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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


977.31 
N31g 


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UNIVERSITY    OF     ILLINOIS    LIBRARY    AT    URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


DEC 
HOV 


197k 


tWW5 


APR20 

• ....    ^ 

tl^M     (<S 

mr    6  , 181 

FEB 


FEB  2  6  19* 
m  1  4 


1932 


JAN  1  2 

HOY  3  0   994 


1995 


L161  — O-1096 


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The  Great 


Chicago  Theater  Disaster 

By    MARSHALL    BVERETT 

The  Well  Known  Lditor  and  Descriptive  Writer 

' 


THE  COMPLETE  STORY  TOLD 
BY  THE  SURVIVORS 

Presenting  a  Vivid  Picture,  both  by  Pen  and  Camera,  of  One  of  the  Greatest 

Fire  Horrors  of  Modern  Times. 


Embracing  a  Flash-Light  Sketch  of  the  Holocaust,  Detailed  Narratives  by  Participants  in  the 
Horror,  Heroic  Work  of  Rescuers,  Reports  of  the  Building  Experts  as  to  the  Responsibility 
for  the  Wholesale  Slaughter  of  Women  and  Children,  Memorable  Fires  of  the  Fast,  etc  ,  etc. 


PROFUSELY    ILLUSTRATED    WITH    VIEWS    OF    THE    SCENE    OF 
DEATH  BEFORE,  DURING  AND  AFTER  THE  FIRE 


Copyright   1904,  by  D.   B.    McCurdy. 


PUBLISHERS    UNION    OF   AMERICA 


y 

1         .- 


HON.  CAKTKK  II.  IIAKK1SON. 
Mayor  of  Chicago. 


I.KADIXf!  ACTRESS   IX   THK  "BLUEBEARD     lit    » 
MISS  BONNIE  MAGINN. 


rO.Ml'AXY, 


IX    FRONT  OF  THE  THEATER   AT   THE   TIME  OF  THE  FIRE, 
December  30th,  1903,  4  P.  M. 


- 


DOOK   TO   TTIK    FIRE    ESCAPE   THAT   COUT.D    \OT   HE   OPEXE!>- 

MAVY    DIED    HERE. 


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x. 


BACK  PART  OF  THE  THEATER  WHILE  THE  FIRE  RAGED. 


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.  - 
•• 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE. 

• 

At  the  urgent  solicitation  of  the  survivors  of  the  great  Iro 
quois  Theater  disaster,  I  have  undertaken  the  task  of  writing 
the  complete  and  connected  history  of  that  historic  event.  The 
work  will  include  stories  of  remarkable  escapes  and  thrilling 
experiences  of  survivors.  It  shall  be  my  aim  to  get  the  actual 
facts  and  all  the  facts  pertaining  to  the  terrible  affair.  I  am 
glad  to  acknowledge  the  assistance  and  co-operation  I  have 
received,  in  preparing  this  memorial  volume,  from  the  highest 
officials,  and  from  leading  experts  and  scientists.  Thus  I  have 
been  able  to  obtain  data  and  special  information  bearing  on 
the  disaster  which  can  be  found  only  in  this  book.  The  task 
of  preparing  a  volume  of  this  character  is  necessarily  a  trying 
one,  and  one  of  mournful  interest,  recalling,  as  it  does,  the 
peculiarly  sad  features  attendant  upon  that  appalling  calamity 
of  December  3oth,  which  make  it  so  different  from  all  other 
great  disasters  of  modern  times. 

Chicago,  with  aching  heart  and  head  bowed  in  grief  o'er 

£'  the  graves  of  its  martyred  dead,  calls  forth  the  pity  of  tl^e 
whole  world  in  this,  her  hour  of  greatest  sorrow — sorrow 
brought  on  by  a  holocaust  that  has  no  parallel  in  the  world's 
history — a  calamity  which  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell 
bereft  hundreds  of  homes  of  their  loved  ones  and  made  Chicago 
the  most  unhappy  city  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  gay  playhouse,  decked  in  Christmas  garb,  the  happy 
audience  of  women  and  children  breathing  the  spirit  of  "Peace 
on  earth,  good  will  to  men,"  the  stage  sparkling  with  the  glare 

*        and  glitter  of  a  scene  from  fairyland,  the  players  inspired  with 


f 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE. 

die  applause  that  came  from  the  delighted  little  children,  and 
then — the  dreadful  cry  of  fire,  the  desperate  fight  for  life  in 
the  blinding  death-trap,  the  heroic  rescues  by  police  and  fire- 
men, the  snuffing  out  of  600  precious  lives,  the  loving  sympathy 
of  the  world — such  in  a  word  is  the  story  of  that  never-to-be- 
forgotten  Wednesday  afternoon,  December  30,  1903. 

While  this  book  is  intended  to  be  a  fitting  memorial  in  com- 
memoration of  that  tragic  and  historic  event,  I  am  firm  in  the 
conviction  that  its  wide  circulation  will  be  instrumental  in 
accomplishing  much  good.  It  calls  special  attention  to  the 
defective  and  dangerous  construction  of  theaters,  public  halls, 
opera  houses  and  other  public  buildings  all  over  the  land ;  bold 
evasions  and  reckless  disregard  of  life-saving  ordinances  by 
managers  and  owners  whereby  thousands  of  precious  lives  are 
constantly  imperiled.  It  will  thus  arouse  public  sentiment  and 
emphasize  the  supreme  importance  of  safeguarding  the  people 
who  congregate  in  such  buildings  and  prevent  the  possible  loss 
of  thousands  of  lives  in  future.  What  has  happened  in  Chicago 
is  liable  to  occur  in  other  cities  and  towns  unless  precautionary 
measures  are  adopted.  This  book  will  sound  a  warning  note 
that  will  be  heard  and  heeded  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  our  land. 

In  this  belief  and  with  the  hope  that  my  efforts  in  writing 
this  volume  may  be  of  good  to  all  mankind,  I  respectfully  dedi- 
cate the  book  to  the  American  people. 

MARSHALL  EVERETT. 


PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE. 

While  the  embers  are  still  all  but  glowing  of  one  of  the  most 
heartrending  fires  of  modern  times,  its  history  has  been  caught 
from  the  lips  of  the  survivors  and  embalmed  in  book  form. 
The  deep  and  far-reaching  effects  of  the  Iroquois  casualty  will 
not  be  eradicated,  if  much  softened,  for  another  generation. 
That  this  is  true  must  be  realized,  when  it  is  remembered  how 
large  a  majority  of  the  victims  were  in  the  early  da*vn  or  flush 
of  life,  and  their  friends  and  closer  kindred  can  the  less  readily 
be  reconciled  to  the  sad  reality  than  if  the  loss  had  fallen 
among  the  mature,  whose  end,  in  the  order  of  nature,  would 
not  be  far  away. 

This  true  story  of  the  Iroquois  theater  disaster  is  one  of 
the  saddest  and  most  terrible  narratives  of  "what  has  been" 
that  the  modern  book-world  has  ever  had  to  present,  and  those 
who  have  been  in  the  midst  of  it  are  sick  at  heart,  thinking  of 
"what  might  have  been."  The  full  story  is  here  told  by  the 
hundreds  torn  with  grief,  whose  distracted  minds  and  hearts 
cannot  keep  them  from  it.  The  story  was  so  benumbing  in 
its  horrors  to  those  who  actually  were  caught  by  the  terror 
of  the  flames  and  panic  that  it  fell  from  their  lips  as  if  in  a 
dream,  and  it  is  certain  that  many  who  saw  the  fated  women 
and  children  going  to  their  death  and  themselves  escaped,  will 
never  be  able  to  tell  the  tale  in  any  other  way;  and  if  the 
victims  who  were  sacrificed  in  the  Iroquois  holocaust  still 
find  interest  in  such  awful  tragedies  of  earth  they  will  surely 
know,  as  dots  all  the  world  to-day,  that  "some  one  has  blun- 
dered." 


PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE. 


If  any  good  whatever  shall  come  from  this  second  great 
fire-blast  which  has  visited  the  Western  Metropolis — the  one 
so  stupendous  in  the  destruction  of  property,  the  other  so 
fiendish  in  its  withering  of  human  life — it  will  be  the  arousal 
of  the  world  to  a  realization  of  the  worthlessness  of  'dead 
money  as  compared  with  quivering  life. 

Even  as  these  words  are  written,  not  only  are  the  public 
officials  of  American  cities,  but  the  rulers  of  the  Old  World, 
bestirring  themselves  to  avoid  such  a  calamity  as  has  but  re- 
cently shocked  and  saddened  the  world.  Theaters,  public  build- 
ings and  palaces  from  San  Francisco  to  New  York,  and  from 
London  to  Tokyo,  are  being  examined  and  improved  in  the 
name  of  human  life.  Not  only  has  the  Old  World  profoundly 
sympathized  with  the  New,  through  the  twice-stricken  city, 
but  it  has  been  inspired  to  undertake  a  great  practical  work 
for  humanity's  sake. 

As  this  is  the  only  permanent  publication  to  present  the 
holocaust  to  the  world,  in  all  its  startling  completeness,  the  pub- 
lishers trust,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  deep  gloom  that  per- 
vades the  country,  that  they  will  prove  no  ineffective  agents 
In  forwarding  this  work  for  the  protection  of  the  present  and 
future  generations. 

It  would  seem  that  all  that  is  necessary  to  bring  about  a 
world-wide  awakening  over  this  deeply  vital  question  is  to 
present  to  the  public  the  true  picture  of  the  Iroquois  theater 
disaster,  as  has  been  done  in  this  volume. 

THE  PUBLISHERS, 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

.  Page 
THE  STORY  OF  THE  FIRE 33 

WAVE  OF  FLAME  GREETS  AUDIENCE — FEW  REALIZE  APPALLING 
RESULT — DROP  WHERE  THEY  STAND — MANY  HEROES  ARE 
DEVELOPED — DEAD  PILED  IN  HEAPS — EXITS  WERE  CHOKED 
WITH  BODIES — SURVEY  SCENE  WITH  HORROR — FIND  BUSH- 
ELS OF  PURSES. 

CHAPTER  II.  N^ 

FIRST  AID  TO  THE  INJURED  AND  CARE  FOR  THE 
DEAD. 51 

GREAT  PILES  OF  CHARRED  BODIES  FOUND  EVERYWHERE  IN  THE 
THEATER — MOAN  INSPIRES  WORKERS  IN  MAD  EFFORT  TO 
SAVE — NONE  LEFT  ALIVE  IN  GALLERY — DEAD  AND  DYING 
CARRIED  INTO  NEARBY  RESTAURANT  BY  SCORES — TERRIBLE 
REALITY  COMES  TO  AWESTRICKEN  CROWD — ONE  LIFE 
BROUGHT  BACK  FROM  DEATH — ONE  HUNDRED  FEET  IN  AIR, 
POLICE  CARRY  INJURED  ACROSS  ALLEY — CROWDS  OF  ANX- 
IOUS FRIENDS — BALCONY  AND  GALLERY  CLEARED — FINANCE 
COMMITTEE  OF  CITY  COUNCIL  ACTS  PROMPTLY. 

CHAPTER  III. 

TAKING  AWAY  AND  IDENTIFYING  THE  DEAD....  67 
HEARTRENDING  SCENES  WITNESSED  AT  THE  UNDERTAKING  ES- 
TABLISHMENTS— FRIENDS  AND  RELATIVES  EAGERLY  SEARCH 
FOR  LOVED  ONES  MISSING  AFTER  THEATER  HOLOCAUST. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SCENES   OF  HORROR  AS   VIEWED   FROM   THE 
STAGE 77 

STORY  OF  How  A  SMALL  BLAZE  TERMINATED  IN  TERRIBLE  Loss — = 
ORCHESTRA  PLAYS  IN  FACE  OF  DEATH — CLOWN  PROVES  A 
HERO— ALL  HOPE  LOST  FOR  GALLERY. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

EXCITING  EXPERIENCES  IN  THE  FIRE 86 

EXPERIENCE  OF  CHICAGO  UNIVERSITY  MEN — BISHOP  BRAVES 
DANGER  IN  HEROIC  WORK  OF  RESCUE — WOMEN  AND  FOUR 
CHILDREN  SUFFER — LEARNS  CHILDREN  HAVE  ESCAPED — 
FINDS  His  DAUGHTER — MR.  FIELD'S  NARRATIVE — NARROW 
ESCAPES  OF  YOUNG  AND  OLD — PULLS  WOMEN  FROM  MASS 
ON  FLOOR. 

CHAPTER  VI. 
HEROES  OF  THE  FIRE 94 

PILES  OF  DEAD  IN  THE  GALLERY — EDDIE  FOY'S  HEROISM — AN 
ELEVATOR  BOY  HERO — Two  BALCONY  HEROES — THE  MUSIC- 
AL DIRECTOR'S  STORY — CHILD  SAVES  His  BROTHER. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  FIRE— THE  ASBESTOS  CUR- 
TAIN AND  THE  LIGHTS 105 

ACCOUNT  OF  THE  FIRE'S  ORIGIN — WERE  ELECTRIC  LIGHTS 
TURNED  OUT? — STATEMENT  OF  MESSRS.  DAVIS  AND  POWERS, 
MANAGERS  OF  THE  THEATER — FIRST  RELIABLE  STATEMENT 
AS  TO  WHY  THE  CURTAIN  DID  NOT  COME  DOWN — ANOTHER 
STORY  AS  TO  WHY  THE  CURTAIN  DID  NOT  LOW'ER — THE 
THEATER  FIREMAN'S  NARRATIVE — THE  STAGE  CARPEXTER — 
THE  CHIEF  ELECTRICAL  INSPECTOR'S  TALE — ONE  OF  THE 
COMEDIANS  SPEAKS — ABOUT  THE  LIGHTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

SUGGESTIONS  OF  ARCHITECTS  AND  OTHER  EX- 
PERTS AS  TO  AVOIDING  LIKE  CALAMITIES . . . .  1 16 

ROBERT  S.  LINDSTROM'S  SUGGESTIONS — THE  ARCHITECT  SPEAKS 
— EXAMINATION  BY  ARCHITECTURAL  EDITOR — PROPOSED 
PRECAUTIONS  FOR  NEW  YORK  THEATERS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THIRTY    EXITS,    YET    HUNDREDS    PERISH    IN 
AWFUL  BLAST 123 

HORRIBLE  SIGHT  MET  THE  FIREMEN  UPON  ENTERING  AUDITOR- 
IUM — THE  GALLERY  HORROR — GIRL'S  MIRACULOUS  ESCAPE— 
AN  ACCOUNT  FROM  THE  BOXES — INSPECTION  AFTER  THE 
FIRE — A  YOUNG  HEROINE — A  NARROW  ESCAPE — FINDS 
WIFE  IN  HOSPITAL — A  MIRACULOUS  AND  UNCONSCIOUS  ES- 
CAPE— LITTLE  GIRL'S  MARVELOUS  ESCAPE — FOUR  GENERA- 
TIONS REPRESENTED — DAUGHTERS  AND  GRANDDAUGHTER* 
GONE. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X. 

HOW  THE  NEW  YEAR  WAS  USHERED  IN 13? 

MOURNING  IN  EVERY  STREET — NOISE  SEEMS  A  SACRILEGE — 
MAYOR  ASKS  FOR  SILENCE — MERRIMENT  is  SUBDUED — CITY 
OF  MOURNING — BUSINESS  WORLD  IN  MOURNING. 

CHAPTER  XL 

A  SABBATH  OF  WOE 143 

SEVEN  TURNER  VICTIMS — SAD  SCENES  AT  WOLFF  HOME — PA- 
THETIC SCENE  AT  CHURCH — BURY  CHILDREN  AND  GRAND-, 
CHILDREN — FlVE  DEAD  IN  ONE  HOUSE — ENTIRE  FAMILY  IS 
BURIED — MRS.  Fox  AND  THREE  CHILDREN — MRS.  ARTHUR 
E.  HULL  AND  CHILDREN — HERBERT  AND  AGNES  LANGE— 
SWEETHEARTS  BURIED  AT  THE  SAME  TIME — FIVE  BURIED 
IN  ONE  GRAVE — BOYS  AS  PALLBEARERS — WINNETKA  SAD- 
DENED— MOTHER  AND  DAUGHTERS  BURIED  TOGETHER — HOLD 
TRIPLE  FUNERAL — WOMEN  FAINT  IN  CHURCH — LIFE-LONG 
FRIENDS  MEET  IN  DEATH — EDWARD  AND  MARGARET  DEE — 
Miss  E.  D.  MANN  AND  NIECE — ELLA  AND  EDITH  FRECK- 
ELTON — Miss  FRANCES  LEHMAN. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

WHAT  OF  THE  PLAYERS  ? 152 

THE  CHORUS  GIRL — THE  MUSICAL  DIRECTOR — THE  JOY  OF  THE 
OPENING — SPENDTJIRIFT  HABITS — GAMBLING,  PURE  AND 
SIMPLE — THE  SHOW  ON  THE  ROAD — THE  ONE-NIGHT 
STAND — THE  "MR.  BLUEBEARD"  COMPANY. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
OTHER  HOLOCAUSTS 181 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

STORIES  AND  NARRATIVES  OF  THE  HOLOCAUST.  193 
MRS.  SCHWEITZLER'S  STORY  OF  THE  BURNING  OF  THE  CURTAIN — • 
ESCAPE  OF  MOTHER  AND  Two  SMALL  CHILDREN — EXPRES- 
SION OF  THE  DEAD — ONLY  SURVIVOR  OF  LARGE  THEATER 
PARTY — ALL  His  FAMILY  GONE — A  FAMILY  PARTY  BURNED 
— CARRIES  DAUGHTER'S  BODY  HOME  IN  His  ARMS — SAD 
ERROR  IN  IDENTIFICATION — THE  HANGER  OF  THE  ASBESTOS 
CURTAIN — KEEPSAKES  OF  THE  DEAD — THE  SCENE  AT 
THOMPSON'S  RESTAURANT — LIKE  A  FIELD  OF  BATTLE — 
WOMEN  EAGER  TO  HELP — STEADY  STREAM  OF  BODIES — 
CLOTHING  TORN  TO  SHREDS — PRAYERS  FOR  THE  DYING — 
CHILD  SAVED  FROM  DEATH  BY  BALLET  GIRL — PRIEST  GIVES 
ABSOLUTION  TO  DYING  FIRE  VICTIMS — LITTLE  BOY  THANKS 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

GOD  FOR  CHANGING  His  LUCK — USE  PLACER  MINER  METH- 
ODS— DAUGHTER  OF  A.  H.  REVELL  ESCAPES — PHILADELPHIA 
PARTNER  IN  THEATER  HORRIFIED — ALL  KENOSHA  IN 
MOURNING — FIVE  OF  ONE  FAMILY  DEAD — COOPER  BROTH- 
ERS DEEPLY  MOURNED. 

CHAPTER  XV. 
SOCIETY  WOMEN  AND  GIRLS'  CLUBS. 214 

Miss  CHARLOTTE  PLAMONDON'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  FIRE — SCREAMS 
OF  TERROR  HEARD — CHORUS  GIRLS  ESCAPE,  PARTLY  CLAD — 
FOY  TRIES  TO  PREVENT  PANIC — ESCAPE  OF  ANOTHER  SO- 
CIETY WOMAN — MINNEAPOLIS  WOMAN'S  STORY  OF  THE  FIRE 
—GIRLS'  CLUBS  SORELY  STRICKEN. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

EDDIE  FOY*S  SWORN  TESTIMONY — DESCRIBES  OTAGE  Box — CUR- 
TAIN WOULD  NOT  COME  DOWN — LIGHT  NEAR  THE  FIRE — 
SAW  NO  EXTINGUISHERS — TALKS  OF  APPARATUS — ONLY 
ONE  EXIT  OPEN — WIRE  ACROSS  AUDITORIUM. 

s  CHAPTER  XVII. 

^EFFECT  OF  THE  FIRE  NEAR  AND  FAR 230 

NEW  YORK  THEATERS  AND  SCHOOLS — CRUSADE  IN  PITTSBURG — 
WASHINGTON  THEATER  OWNERS  ARRESTED — MASSACHU- 
SETTS THEATERS  INVESTIGATED — ACTION  IN  MILWAUKEE — 
PRECAUTIONS  AT  ST.  Louis — ORDERS  AFFECTING  OMAHA 
THEATERS — EFFECT  ABROAD — HORROR  FELT  IN  LONDON — 
LONDON  THEATER  PRECAUTIONS — PRESENT  RULES  FOR  LON- 
DON THEATERS — CURTAIN  OFTEN  TESTED — CLOSE  WATCH 
FOR  FIRE — TREE  TELLS  OF  RUSE — FORTUNE  FOR  SAFETY — 
W.  C.  ZIMMERMAN  ON  EUROPEAN  THEATERS — THE  EFFECT 
ON  GAY  PARIS — UPHEAVAL  OF  BERLIN  THEATRICAL  WORLD 
— MR.  SHAVER  ON  BERLIN  THEATERS — VIENNA  RECALLS  A 
HORROR  OF  ITS  OWN — THE  NETHERLANDS  AND  SCANDINAVIA. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  SAFE  THEATERS 243 

FRANCIS  WILSON  SAYS  "No  STEPS" — STAIRCASES  WITH  RAIL- 
INGS— PRECAUTIONS   ENFORCED    TN    LONDON— WHAT   THE 
CHICAGO  CITY  ENGINEER  SAYS — OPINION  OF  A  FIREPROOF 
EXPERT — ILLUMINATED  EXIT  SIGNS. 
CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  SWORN  TESTIMONY  OF  THE  SURVIVORS. . .  .251 
THE  FIRST  WITNESS — MARLOWE'S  EXPERIENCE — MUSICAL  DI- 
RECTOR'S SWORN  STATEMENT — MRS.  PETRY'S  ESCAPE — UP 
AGAINST  LOCKED  DOORS — BLOWN  INTO  THE  ALLEY — JUST 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

Our  IN  TIME — SPORTING  MEN  TESTIFY — AN  ELGIN  PHYSI- 
CIAN'S TALE — MR.  MEN  HARD'S  DIFFICULT  EXIT — THE  THE- 
ATER ENGINEER — A  SCHOOL  GIRL'S  ACCOUNT. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

LACK  OF  FIRE  SAFEGUARDS 271 

A  UNIVERSITY  STUDENT'S  STORY — A  CLERGYMAN'S  STORY — THE 
FLY  MAN'S  STORY — SCHOOL  TEACHER'S  THRILLING  EXPERI- 
ENCE— GLEN  VIEW  MAN'S  EXPERIENCE — THE  LIGHT  OPER- 
ATOR— THE  JAMMED  THEATER — GAS  EXPLOSION  HOURS  BE- 
FORE THE  FIRE — PANIC  AMONG  THEATER  EMPLOYEES — ANk 
EX-USHER'S  WORDS. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

[RON  GATES,  DEATH'S  ALLY 300 

EVIDENCE  OF  GEORGE  M.  DUSENBERRY,  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  THE 
THEATER — PURPOSE  OF  THE  Two  IRON  GATES — NEVER  ANY 
FIRE  DRILLS — GATES  WERE  BATTERED— DIDN'T  BOTHER 
ABOUT  LOCKED  DOORS. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

DANCED  IN  PRESENCE  OF  DEATH 306 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

JOIN  TO  AVENGE  SLAUGHTER  OF  INNOCENTS... 31  *  . 
ATTORNEY  T.  Df  KNIGHT  SPEAKS — CORONER'S  WORK  THROUGH 
—REMARKS  BY  ELIZABETH  HALEY. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

AWFUL  PROPHECY  FULFILLED 317 

MOURNING  AND  INDIGNATION — NOTHING  ELSE  so  HORRIBLE — 
UNFORTUNATE  VICTIMS — FIRE!  FIRE! — BEFORE  THE  DISAS- 
TER— THE  HOLOCAUST — THE  STAMPEDE  BEGINS — ONE  OF 
STUPENDOUS  HORRORS — CURSED  AND  BLASPHEMED— DEAD 
BODIES  FOUND — SUDDENLY  AND  FOREVER  PARTED — THE 
FRENZY  OF  FRIENDS — Too  HORRIBLE  TO  DWELL  UPON— 
How  THE  THEATERS  SHOULD  BE  BUILT. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
LIST  OF  THE  DEAD ,...325 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  BURNING  OF   BALTI- 
MORE   ...; ,. 357 


MEMORIAL  PRAYER. 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Fallows  wrote  this  prayer  for  Chicago 
on  its  appointed  day  of  mourning.  It  is  a  prayer  for  all 
mourners  of  all  creeds : 

"O  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  we  pray  for  an  unshaken 
faith  in  Thy  goodness  as  our  hearts  are  bowed  in  anguish 
before  Thee. 

Come  with  Thy  touch  of  healing  to  those  who  are  suffer- 
ing fiery  pain. 

• 

Open  wide  the  gates  of  Paradise  to  the  dying. 

\i 
Comfort  with  the  infinite  riches  of  Thy  grace  the  bereaved 

and  mourning  ones. 

Forgive  and  counteract  all  our  sins  of  omission  and  com 
mission. 

All  this  we  ask  for  Thy  dear  name  and  mercy's  sake 
\rnea '* 


MEMORIAL  HYMN. 

Bishop  Muldoon  selected  as  the  one  familiar  hymn  most 
deeply  expressive  of  the  city's  mourning,  "Lead,  Kindly 
Light,"  which  he  declared  should  be  the  united  song  of  all 
Chicagoans  on  Memorial  Day. 

Lead,  kindly  Light,  amid  th'  encircling  gloom, 

1     Lead  Thou  me  on ; 
The  night  is  dark,  and  I  am  far  from  home, 

Lead  Thou  me  on. 

Keep  Thou  my  feet ;  I  do  not  ask  to  see 
The  distant  scene ;  one  step  enough  for  me, 

I  was  not  ever  thus,  nor  prayed  that  Thou 

Shouldst  lead  me  on ; 
I  loved  to  choose  and  see  my  path ;  but  now  < 

Lead  Thou  me  on. 

I  loved  the  garish  day,  and,  spite  of  fears, 
Pride  ruled  my  will :  remember  not  past  years. 

So  long  Thy  power  hath  blessed  me,  sure  it  still 

Will  lead  me  on  t 
O'er  moor  and  fen,  o'er  crag  and  torrent,  till 

The  night  is  gone, 

And  with  the  morn  those  angel  faces  smile, 
Which  I  have  loved  long  since,  and  lost  awhile. 


POEM  BY  A  CHILD  VICTIM. 

The  following  poem,  written  by  Walter  Bissinger,  a  ley 
victim  of  the  Iroquois  Theater  fire,  fifteen  years  old,  was  com- 
posed two  years  ago,  in  honor  of  the  tenth  anniversary  of  the 
youthful  poet's  uncle  and  aunt,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Max  Pottlitzer, 
of  Lafayette,  Ind.,  whose  son  Jack,  aged  ten,  perished  with  his 
cousin  in  the  terrible  disaster : 


HAVE  A  THOUGHT. 


Have  a  thought  for  the  days  that  are  long  gone  by 

To  the  country  of  What-has-been, 
And  a  thought  for  the  ones  that  unseen  lie 
'Neath  the  mystic  veil 
Of  the  future  pale, 
As  the  years  roll  out  and  in. 

II 

Have  a  thought  for  the  host  and  hostess  here, 

Aunt  Emily  and  Uncle  Max, 
And  a  thought  for  our  friends  to  our  hearts  so  dear. 
That  around  us  tonight 
In  the  joyous  light 
Of  pleasure  their  souls  relax. 


in 

Have  a  thought  for  the  happy  two  tonight 

Who  have  passed  their  tenth  wedded  year, 
And  the  best  of  wishes,  kind  and  bright, 
Which  we  impart 
With  a  loving  heart 
That  is  faithful  and  sincere. 


VERDICT  OF  CORONER'S  JURY. 

From  the  testimony  presented  to  us  we,  the  jury,  find  the 
following  were  the  causes  of  said  fire : 

Grand  drapery  coming  in  contact  with  electric  flood  or  arc 
light,  situated  on  iron  platform  on  the  right  hand  of  stage, 
facing  the  auditorium. 

City  laws  were  not  complied  with  relating  to  building 
ordinances  regulating  fire-alarm  boxes,  fire  apparatus,  damper 
or  flues  on  and  over  the  stage  and  fly  galleries. 

We  also  find  a  distinct  violation  of  ordinance  governing 
fireproofing  of  scenery  and  all  woodwork  on  or  about  the  stage. 

Asbestos  curtain  totally  destroyed ;  wholly  inadequate,  con- 
sidering the  highly  inflammable  nature  of  all  stage  fittings,  and 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  same  was  hung  on  wooden  bottoms. 

Building  ordinances  violated  inclosing  aisles  on  each  side 
of  lower  boxes  and  not  having  any  fire  apparatus,  dampers  or 
signs  designating  exits  on  balcony. 

LACK  OF  FIRE  APPARATUS. 

Building  ordinances  violated  regulating  fire  apparatus  and 
signs  designating  exits  on  dress  circle. 

Building  ordinances  violated  regulating  fire  apparatus  and 
signs  designating  exits  on  balcony. 

Generally  the  building  is  constructed  of  the  best  material 
and  well  planned,  with  the  exception  of  the  top  balcony,  which 
was  built  too  steep  and  therefore  difficult  for  people  to  get  out 
of  especially  in  case  of  an  emergency. 

We  also  note  a  serious  defect  in  the  wide  stairs  in  extreme 
top  east  entrance  leading  to  ladies'  lavatory  and  gallery  prome- 
nade, same  being  misleading,  as  many  people  mistook  this  for 
a  regular  exit,  and,  going  as  far  as  they  could,  were  con- 
fronted with  a  locked  door  which  led  to  a  private  stairway, 

A 


B  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

preventing  many  from  escape  and  causing  the  loss  of  fifty  to 
sixty  lives. 

HOLDING  OF  DAVIS  AND  HARRISON. 

We  hold  Will  J.  Davis,  as  president  and  general  manager, 
principally  responsible  for  the  foregoing  violations  in  the  fail- 
ure to  see  that  the  Iroquois  theater  was  properly  equipped  as 
required  by  city  ordinances,  and  that  his  employes  were  not 
sufficiently  instructed  and  drilled  for  any  and  all  emergencies; 
and  we,  the  jury,  recommend  that  the  said  Will  J.  Davis  be 
held  to  the  grand  jury  until  discharged  by  due  course  of  law. 

We  hold  Carter  H.  Harrison,  mayor  of  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago, responsible,  as  he  has  shown  a  lamentable  lack  of  force 
in  his  efforts  to  shirk  responsibility,  evidenced  by  testimony  of 
Building  Commissioner  George  Williams  and  Fire  Marshal 
William  H.  Musham  as  heads  of  departments  under  the  said 
Carter  H.  Harrison ;  following  this  weak  course  has  given  Chi- 
cago inefficient  service,  which  makes  such  calamities  as  the 
Iroquois  theater  horror  a  menace  until  the  public  service  is 
purged  of  incompetents;  and  we,  the  jury,  recommend  that 
the  said  Carter  H.  Harrison  be  held  to  the  grand  jury  until 
discharged  by  due  course  of  few. 

RESPONSIBILITY  OF  WILLIAMS. 

We  hold  the  said  George  Williams,  as  building  commis- 
sioner, responsible  for  gross  neglect  of  his  duty  in  allowing  the 
Iroquois  Theater  to  open  its  doors  to  the  public  when  the  said 
theater  was  incomplete,  and  did  not  comply  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  building  ordinances  of  the  city  of  Chicago;  and 
we,  the  jury,  recommend  that  the  said  George  Williams  be  held 
to  the  grand  jury  until  discharged  by  due  process  of  law. 

We  hold  Edward  Loughlin,  as  building  inspector,  re- 
sponsible for  gross  neglect  of  duty  and  glaring  incompetency  in 
reporting  the  Iroqu^'s  theater  "O.  K."  on  a  most  superficial 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  C 

inspection;  and  we,  the  jury,  recommend  that  the  said  Edward 
Loughlin  be  held  to  the  grand  jury  until  discharged  by  due 
course  of  law. 

We  hold  William  H.  Musham,  fire  marshal,  responsible 
for  gross  neglect  of  duty  in  not  enforcing  the  city  ordinances 
as  they  relate  to  his  department,  and  failure  to  have  his  subor- 
dinate, William  Sailers,  fireman  at  the  Iroquois  Theater,  report 
the  lack  of  fire  apparatus  and  appliances  as  required  by  law; 
and  we,  the  jury,  recommend  that  the  said  William  H.  Musham 
be  held  to  the  grand  jury  until  discharged  by  due  course  of  law. 

NEGLECT  OF  DUTY  BY  SALLERS. 

We  hold  the  said  William  Sailers,  as  fireman  of  Iroquois 
Theater,  for  gross  neglect  of  duty  in  not  reporting  the  lack  of 
proper  fire  apparatus  and  appliances;  and  we,  the  jury,  recom- 
mend that  the  said  William  Sailers  be  held  to  the  grand  jury 
until  discharged  by  due  course  of  law. 

We  hold  William  McMullen,  electric-light  operator,  for 
gross  neglect  and  carelessness  in  performance  of  duty ;  and  we, 
the  jury,  recommend  that  the  said  William  McMullen  be  held 
to  the  grand  jury  until  discharged  by  due  process  of  law. 

We  hold  James  E.  Cummings,  as  stage  carpenter  and  gen- 
eral superintendent  of  stage,  responsible  for  gross  carelessness 
and  neglect  of  duty  in  not  equipping  the  stage  with  proper  fire 
apparatus  and  appliances;  and  we,  the  jury,  recommend  that 
the  said  James  E.  Cummings  be  held  to  the  grand  jury  until 
discharged  by  due  course  of  law. 

From  testimony  presented  to  this  jury,  same  shows  a  lax- 
ity and  carelessness  in  city  officials  and  their  routine  in  trans- 
acting business,  which  calls  for  revision  by  the  mayor  and 
city  council ;  and  we,  the  jury  demand  immediate  action  on  the 
following; 


D  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

BUILDING  DEPARTMENT. 

Should  have  classified  printed  lists,  to  be  filled  out  by  an 
inspector,  then  signed  by  head  of  department,  before  any  public 
building  can  secure  amusement  license,  and  record  kept  thereof 
in  duplicate  carbon  book. 

All  fire  escapes  should  have  separate  passageways  to  the 
ground,  without  passing  any  openings  in  the  walls. 

All  scenery  and  paraphernalia  of  any  kind  kept  on  the 
stage  should  be  absolutely  fireproof. 

Asbestos  curtains  should  be  reinforced  by  steel  curtains 
and  held  by  steel  cables. 

There  should  be  two  electric  mains  entering  all  places  of 
amusement,  one  from  the  front,  with  switchboard  in  box  office, 
controlling  entire  auditorium  and  exits,  and  one  on  stage,  to  be 
used  for  theatrical  purposes. 

All  city  officials  and  employes  should  familiarize  them- 
selves with  city  ordinances  as  they  relate  to  their  respective  de- 
partments, and  pass  a  rigid  and  signed  examination  on  same 
before  they  are  given  positions.  This  same  rule  should  be 
made  to  apply  to  those  holding  office. 

FIRE  DEPARTMENT. 

All  theaters  and  public  places  should  be  supplied  with  at 
least  two  city  firemen,  who  shall  be  under  the  direction  of  the 
fire  department  and  paid  by  the  proprietors  of  said  places. 

We  recommend  that  the  office  and  detail  work  of  the  fire 
department,  as  imposed  on  the  fire  marshal,  be  made  a  separate 
and  distinct  work  from  fire  fighting,  as  it  is  hardly  to  be  ex- 
pected of  any  fire  marshal  to  give  good  and  efficient  service  in 
both  of  these  branches. 

Also  a  police  officer  in  full  uniform  detailed  in  and  about 
said  place  at  each  and  every  performance. 

In  testimony  wherof,  the  said  coroner  and  jury  of  this  in- 
quest have  hereunto  set  their  hands  the  day  and  year  aforesaid. 
L.  H.  MEYER,  Foreman,  PETER  BYRNES, 

J.  A.  CUM  MINGS,  WALTER  D.  CLINGMAN, 

JOHN  E.  FINN,  GEORGE  W.  ATKIN. 

JOHN  £.  TRAEGEK,  Coroner. 


CHAPTER  L 
THE  STORY  OF  THE  FIRE. 

No  disaster,  by  flood,  volcano,  wreck  or  convulsion  of  nature 
has  in  recent  times  aroused  such  horror  as  swept  over  the  civ- 
ilized world  when  on  December  30,  1903,  a  death-dealing  blast 
of  flame  hurtled  through  the  packed  auditorium  of  the  Iroquois 
theater,  Chicago,  causing  the  loss  of  nearly  600  lives  of  men, 
women  and  children,  and  injuries  to  unknown  scores. 

Strong  words  pale  and  appear  meaningless  when  used  in 
describing  the  full  enormity  of  this  disaster,  which  has  no 
recent  parallel  save  in  the  outbreaks  of  nature's  irresistible 
forces.  There  have  been  greater  losses  of  life  by  volcanoes, 
earthquakes  and  floods,  but  no  fire  horror  of  modern  times  has 
equaled  this  one,  which  in  a  brief  half-hour  turned  a 
beautiful  million-dollar  theater  into  an  oven  piled  high  with 
corpses,  some  burned  and  mutilated  and  others  almost  un- 
marked in  death. 

Coming,  as  it  did,  in  the  midst  of  a  holiday  season,  when 
the  second  greatest  city  in  the  United  States  was  reveling  in 
the  gaiety  of  Christmas  week,  this  sudden  transformation  of  a 
playhouse  filled  with  a  pleasure-seeking  throng  into  an  inferno 
filled  with  shrieking  living  and  mutilated  dead,  came  as  a 
thunderbolt  from  a  clear  sky. 

It  was  a  typical  holiday  matinee  crowd,  composed  mostly  of 
women  and  children,  with  here  and  there  a  few  men.  The 
production  was  the  gorgeous  scenic  extravaganza  "Mr.  Blue- 
beard,"  with  which  the  handsome  new  theater  had  been  opened 


34  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

" 

not  a  month  before.  "Don't  fail  to  have  the  children  see  'Mr. 
Bluebeard,'  "  was  the  advertisement  spread  broadcast  through- 
out the  city,  and  the  children  were  there  in  force  when  the 
scorching  sheet  of  flame  leaped  from  the  stage  into  the  balcony 
and  gallery  where  a  thousand  were  packed. 

The  building  had  been  heralded  abroad  as  a  "fireproof  struc- 
ture," with  more  than  enough  exits.  Ushers  and  five  men  in 
city  uniform  were  in  the  aisles.  All  was  apparently  safety, 
mirth  and  good  cheer. 

Then  came  the  transformation  scene ! 

The  auditorium  and  the  stage  were  darkened  for  the  popular 
song  "The  Pale  Moonlight."  Eight  clashing  chorus  girls  and 
eight  stalwart  men  in  showy  costume  strolled  through  the 
measures  of  the  piece,  bathed  in  a  flood  of  dazzling  light.  Up 
in  the  scenes  a  stage  electrician^vas  directing  the  "spot-light" 
which  threw  the  pale  moonlight  effect  on  the  stage. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  startled  cry.  Far  overhead  where 
the  "spot"  was  shooting  forth  its  brilliant  ray  of  concentrated 
light  a  tiny  serpentine  tongue  of  flame  crept  over  the  inside  of 
the  proscenium  drape.  It  was  an  insignificant  thing,  yet  the 
horrible  possibilities  it  entailed  flashed  over  all  in  an  instant. 
A  spark  from  the  light  had  communicated  to  the  rough  edge 
of  the  heavy  cloth  drape.  Like  a  flash  it  stole  across  the  pros- 
cenium and  high  up  into  the  gridiron  above. 

Accustomed  as  they  were  to  insignificant  fire  scares  and 
trying  ordeals  that  are  seldom  the  lot  of  those  who  lead  a  less 
i  strenuous  life,  the  people  of  the  stage  hurried  silently  to  the 
task  of  stamping  out  the  blaze.  In  the  orchestra  pit  it  could 
readily  be  seen  that  something  was  radically  wrong,  but  the 
trained  musicians  played  on. 

Members  of  the  octette  cast  their  eyes  above  and  saw  the 
tiny  tongue  of  flame  growing  into  a  whirling  maelstrom  of 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  35 

fire.  But  it  was  a  sight  they  had  seen  before.  Surely  some- 
thing would  happen  to  exfinguish  it.  America's  newest  and 
most  modern  fireproof  playhouse  was  not  going  to  disappear 
before  an  insignificant  fire  in  the  rigging  loft.  So  they  con- 
tinued to  sway  in  sinuous  steps  to  the  rhythm  of  the  throbbing 
orchestra.  Their  presence  stilled  the  nervousness  of  the  vast 
audience,  which  knew  that  something  was  wrong,  but  had  no 
means  of  realizing  what  that  something  was. 

So  the  gorgeously  attired  men  and  dashing,  voluptuous 
young  women  danced  on.  The  throng  feasted  its  eyes  on  the 
moving  scene  of  life  and  color,  little  knowing  that  for  them 
it  was  the  last  dance — the  dance  of  death ! 

That  dance  was  not  the  only  one  in  progress.  Far  above 
the  element  of  death  danced  from  curtain  to  curtain.  The  fire 
fiend,  red  and  glowing  with  exultation,  snapping  and  crackling 
in  anticipation  of  the  feast  before  it,  grew  beyond  all  bounds. 
V  Glowing  embers  and  blazing  sparks — crumbs  from  its  table — 
began  to  slower  upon  the  merry  dancers,  and  they  fell  back 
with  blanched  faces  and  trembling  limbs.  Eddie  Foy  rushed 
to  the  front  of  the  stage  to  reassure  the  spectators,  who  now 
realized  the  peril  at  hand  and  rose  in  their  seats  struggling 
against  the  impulse  to  fly.  Others  joined  the  comedian  in  his 
plea  for  calmness. 

Suddenly  their  voices  were  drowned  in  a  volley  of  sounds 
like  the  booming-  of  great  guns.  The  manila  lines  by  which 
the  carloads  of  scenery  in  the  loft  above  was  suspended  gave 
way  before ^he  fire  like  so  much  paper  and  the  great  wooden 
batons  fell  like  thunder  bolts  upon  the  now  deserted  stage. 

Still  the  audience  stood,  terror  bound. 

"Lower  the  fire  curtain!"  came  a  hoarse  cry. 

Something  shot  down  over  the  proscenium,  then  stopped  be- 
fore the  great  opening  was  closed,  leaving  a  yawning  space  of 


36  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER 

many  feet  beneath.  With  the  dropping  of  the  curtain  a  door 
in  the  rear  had  been  opened  by  the  performers,  fleeing  for  their 
lives  and  battling  to  escape  from  the  devouring  element  fast 
hemming  them  in  on  every  side.  The  draft  thus  caused  trans- 
formed the  stage  in  one  second  from  a  dark,  gloomy,  smoke 
concealed  scene  of  chaos  into  a  seething  volcano.  With  a 
great  puff  the  mass  of  flame  swept  out  over  the  auditorium,  a 
withering  blast  of  death.  Before  it  the  vast  throng  broke  and 
fled. 

Doors,  windows,  hallways,  fire  escapes — all  were  jammed  in 
a  moment  with  struggling  humanity,  fighting  for  life.  Some 
of  the  doors  were  jammed  almost  instantly  so  that  no  human 
power  could  make  egress  possible.  Behind  those  in  front 
pushed  the  frenzied  mass  of  humanity,  Chicago's  elect,  the 
wives  and  children  of  its  most  prosperous  business  men  and 
the  flower  of  local  society,  fighting  like  demons  incarnate. 
Purses,  wraps,  costly  furs  were  cast  aside  in  that  mad  rush, 
Mothers  were  torn  from  their  children,  husbands  from  their 
wives.  No  hold,  however  strong,  could  last  against  that  aw- 
ful, indescribable  crush.  Strong  men  who  sought  to  the  last 
to  sustain  their  feminine  companions  were  swept  away  lifce 
straws,  thrown  to  the  floor  and  trampled  into  unconsciousness 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Women  to  whom  the  safety  of 
their  children  was  more  than  their  own  lives  had  their  little 
ones  torn  from  them  and  buried  under  the  mighty  sweep  of 
humanity,  moving  onward  by  intuition  rather  than  through 
exercise  of  thought  to  the  various  exits.  They  in  turn  were 
swept  on  before  their  wails  died  on  their  lips — some  to  safety, 
others  to  an  unspeakably  horrible  death. 

While  some  exits  were  jammed  by  fallen  refugees  so  as  to 
become  useless,  others  refused  to  open.  In  the  darkness  that 
fell  upon  the  doomed  theater  a  struggle  ensued  such  as  was 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  37 

never  pictured  in  the  mind  of  Dante  in  his  visions  of  Inferno. 
With  prayers,  curses  and  meaningless  shrieks  of  terror  all 
faced  their  fate  like  rats  in  a  trap.  The  darkness  was  illumined 
by  a  fearful  light  that  burst  from  the  sea  of  flame  pouring 
out  from  the  proscenium,  making  Dore's  representations  of 
Inferno  shrink  into  the  commonplace.  Like  a  horizontal  vol- 
cano the  furnace  on  the  stage  belched  forth  its  blast  of  fire, 
smoke,  gas  and  withering,  blighting  heat.  Like  a  wave  it 
rolled  over  every  portion  of  the  vast  house,  dancing. 

Dancing!  Yes,  the  pillars  of  flame  danced!  To  the  multi- 
tude swept  into  eternity  before  the  hurricane  of  flame  and  the 
few  who  were  dragged  out  hideously  disfigured  and  burned 
almost  beyond  all  semblance  of  human  beings  it  seemed  indeed 
a  dance  of  death. 

Withering,  crushing,  consuming  all  in  its  path,  forced  on  as 
though  by  the  power  of  some  mighty  blow  pipe,  impelled  by 
the  fearful  drafts  that  directed  the  fiery  furnace  outward  into 
the  auditorium  instead  of  upward  into  the  great  flues  con- 
structed to  meet  just  such  an  emergency,  the  sea  of  fire  burned 
itself  out.  There  was  little  or  nothing  in  the  construction  of 
the  building  itself  for  it  to  feed  upon,  and  it  fell  back  of  its 
own  weight  to  the  stage,  where  it  roared  and  raged  lik£  some 
angry  demon. 

And  those  great  flues  that  supposedly  gave  the  palatial 
Iroquois  increased  safety !  Barred  and  grated,  battened  down 
with  heavy  timbers  they  resisted  the  terrific  force  of  the  blast 
itself.  There  they  remained  intact  the  next  day.  Anxiety 
*to  throw  open  the  palace  of  pleasure  to  the  public  before  the 
builders  had  time  to  complete  in  detail  their  Herculean  task 
had  resulted  in  converting  it  into  a  veritable  slaughter  pen. 

"Mr.  Bluebeard's"  chamber  of  horrors,  lightly  depicted  in 
satire  to  settings  of  gold  and  color,  wit  and  music,  had  evolved 


38  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

~" 

within  a  few  minutes  into  an  actuality.  Chamber  of  horror* 
indeed — grim,  silent,  smoldering  and  sending  upon  high  the 
fearful  odor  of  burning  flesh. 

Policemen  and  firemen,  hardened  to  terrible  sights,  crept 
into  the  smoldering  sepulchre  only  to  turn  back  sickened  by 
the  sight  that  met  their  eyes.  Tears  and  groans  fell  from 
them  and  they  were  unnerved  as  they  gazed  upon  the  scene^  of 
carnage.  Some  gave  way  and  were  themselves  the  subjects 
of  deep  concern.  It  was  a  scene  to  wring  tears  from  the  very 
stones.  No  words  can  adequately  describe  it. 

Perhaps  the  best  description  of  that  quarter  hour  of  carnage 
and  the  sense  of  horror  when  the  seared,  scorched  sepulchre 
was  entered  for  the  removal  of  the  dead  and  dying  is  found  in 
the  words  of  the  veteran  descriptive  writer,  Mr.  Ben  H.  At  well, 
who  was  present  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  holo- 
caust, and  after  visiting  the  deadly  spot  in  the  gray  dawn 
of  the  following  day  wrote  his  impressions  as  follows: 

"Where  at  3:15  yesterday  beauty  and  fashion  and  the 
happy  amusement  seeker  thronged  the  palatial  playhouse  to 
fall  a  few  moments  later  before  a  deadly  blast  of  smoke  and 
flame  sweeping  over  all  with  irresistible  force,  the  dawn  of  tlie 
last  day  of  the  passing  year  found  confusion,  chaos  and  an  all- 
pervading  sense  of  the  awful.  It  seemed  to  radiate  the  chill- 
ing, depressing  volume  from  the  streaked,  grime-covered  walls 
and  the  flame-licked  ceilings  overhead.  Against  this  fearful 
background  the  few  grim  firemen  or  police,  moving  silently 
about  the  ruins,  searching  for  overlooked  dead  or  abandoned 
property,  loomed  up  like  fitful  ghosts. 

WAVE  OF  FLAME  GREETS  AUDIENCE. 

"The  progress  of  their  noiseless  and  ghastly  quest  proved 
one  circumstance  survivors  are  too  unsettled  to  realize.  With 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  39 

the  opening  of  the  stage  dqor  to  permit  the  escape  of  the 
members  of  the  'Mr.  Bluebeard'  company  and  the  breaking 
of  the  skylight  above  the  flue-like  scene  loft  that  tops  the 
stage,  the  latter  was  converted  into  a  furnace  through  which 
a  tremendous  draft  poured  like  a  blow  pipe,  driving  billows 
of  flame  into  the  faces  of  the  terrified  audience.  With  exits 
above  the  parquet  floor  simply  choked  up  with  the  crushed 
bodies  of  struggling  victims,  who  made  the  first  rush  for 
safety,  the  packed  hundreds  in  balcony  and  gallery  faced  fire 
that  moved  them  up  in  waves. 

"With  a  swirl  that  sounded  death,  the  thin  bright  sheet 
of  fire  rolled  on  from  stage  to  rear  wall.  It  fed  on  the  rich  box 
curtains,  seized  upon  the  sparse  veneer  of  subdued  red  and 
green  decorations  spread  upon  wall,  ceiling  and  balcony  fac- 
ings. It  licked  the  fireproof  materials  below  clean  and  rolled 
on  with  a  roar.  Over  seat  tops  and  plush  rail  cushions  it 
sped.  Then  it  snuffed  out,  having  practically  nothing  to  feed 
upon  save  the  tangled  mass  of  wood  scene  frames,  batons  and 
paint-soaked  canvas  on  the  stage. 

FEW  REALIZED  APPALLING  RESULT. 

"There  firemen  were  directing  streams  of  water  that  poured 
over  the  premises  in  great  cascades  in  volume,  aggregating 
many  tons.  A  few  streams  were  directed  about  the  body  of 
the  house,  where  vagrant  tongues  of  flame  s^ill  found  material 
on  which  to  feed.  Silence  reigned — the  silence  of  death,  but 
none  realized  the  appalling  story  behind  the  awful  calm. 

"The  stampede  that  followed  the  first  alarm,  a  struggle  in 
which  most  contestants  were  women  and  children,  fighting 
with  the' desperation  of  death,  terminated  with  the  sudden  sweep 
of  the  sea  of  flames  across  the  body  of  the  house.  The  awful 
battle  ended  before  the  irresistible  hand  of  death,  which  fell 


40 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


upon  contestants  and  those  behind  alike.  Somehow  those  on 
the  main  floor  managed  to  force  their  way  out.  Above,  where 
the  presence  of  narrower  exits,  stairways  that  precipitated  the 
masses  of  humanity  upon  each  other  and  the  natural  air  cur- 
rent for  the  billows  of  flame  to  follow,  spelled  death  to  the  occu- 
pants of  the  two  balconies,  the  wave  of  flame,  smoke  and  gas 
smote  the  multitude, 

DROP  WHERE  THEY  STAND. 

"Dropping  where  they  stood,  most  of  the  victims  were  con- 
sumed beyond  recognition.  Some  who  were  protected  from 
contact  with  the  flames  by  masses  of  humanity  piled  upon 
them  escaped  death  and  were  dragged  out  later  by  rescuers, 
suffering  all  manner  of  injury.  The  majority,  however,  who 
beheld  the  indescribably  terrifying  spectacle  of  the  wave  of 
death  moving  upon  them  through  the  air  died  then  and  there 
without  a  moment  for  preparation.  Few  survived  to  tell  the 
tale.  The  blood-curdling  cry  of  mingled  prayers  and  curses, 
of  pleas  for  help  and  meaningless  shrieks  of  despair  died  away 
before  the  roar  of  the  fire  and  the  silence  fell  that  greeted  the 
firemen  upon  their  entry. 

"Survivors  describe  the  sftuation  as  a  parallel  of  the  condi* 
tion  at  Martinique  when  a  wave  of  gas  and  fire  rolled  down 
the  mountain  side  and  destroyed  everything  in  its  path.  Here, 
however,  one  circumstance  was  reversed,  for  the  wave  of  death 
leaped  from  below  and  smote  its  victims,  springing  from  the 
very  air  beneath  them, 

MANY  HEROES  ARE  DEVELOPED. 

"In  a  few  minutes  it  was  all  over — all  but  the  weeping.  In 
those  few  minutes  obscure  people  had  evolved  into  heroes; 
staid  business  men  drove  outt  patrons  to  convert  their  stores 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  41 

into  temporary  hospitals  and  morgues;  others  converted  their 
trucks  and  delivery  wagons  into  improvised  ambulances ;  stocks 
of  drugs,  oils  and  blankets  were  showered  upon  the  police  to 
aid  in  relief  work  and  a  corps  of  physicians  and  surgeons  suffi- 
cient to  the  needs  of  an  army  had  organized. 

"Rescues  little  short  of  miraculous  were  accomplished  and 
life  and  limb  were  risked  by  public  servants  and  citizens  with 
no  thought  of  personal  consequences.  Public  sympathy  was 

^^f 

thoroughly  aroused  long  before  the  extent  of  the  horror  was 
known  and  before  the  sickening  report  spread  throughout  the 
city  that  the  greatest  holocaust  ever  known  in  the  history  of 
theatricals  had  fallen  upon  Chicago. 

"While  the  streets  began  to  crowd  for  blocks  around  with 
weeping  and  heartbroken  persons  in  mortal  terror  because  of 
knowledge  that  loved  ones  had  attended  the  performance, 
patrol  wagons,  ambulances  and  open  wagons  hurried  the  in- 
jured to  hospitals.  Before  long  they  were  called  upon  to  per- 
form the  more  grewsome  task  of  removing  the  dead.  In 
wagon  loads  the  latter  were  carted  away.  Undertaking  estab- 
lishments both  north,  south  and  west  of  the  river  threw  open 
their  doors. 

DEAD  PILED  IN  HEAPS. 

^  "  Piled  in  windows  in  the  angle  of  the  stairway  where  the 
second  balcony  refugees  were  brought  face  to  face  and  in  a 
death  struggle  with  the  occupants  of  the  first  balcony,  the  dead 
covered  a  space  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  square  and  nearly  seven 
feet  in  depthr  All  were  absolutely  safe  from  the  fire  itself 
when  they  met  death,  having  emerged  from  the  theater  proper 
into  the  separate  building  containing  the  foyer.  In  this  great 
court  there  was  absolutely  nothing  to  burn  and  the  doors  were 
only  a  few  feet  away.  There  the  ghastly  pile  lay,  a  mute  mon- 


! 


42  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

ument  to  the  powers  of  terror.  Above  and  about  towered 
shimmering  columns  and  facades  in  polished  marble,  whose 
cold  and  unharmed  surfaces  seemed  to  bespeak  contempt  for 
human  folly.  In  that  portion  of  the  Iroquois  structure  the 
only  physical  evidences  of  damages  were  a  few  windows 
broken  during  the  excitement. 

EXITS  WERE  CHOKED  WITH  BODIES. 

"To  that  pile  of  dead  is  attributed  the  great  loss  of  life 
within.  The  bodies  choked  up  the  entrance,  barring  the  egress 
of  those  behind.  Neither  age  nor  youth,  sex,  quality  or  condi- 
tion were  sacred  in  the  awful  battle  in  the  doorway.  The  gray 
and  aged,  rich,  poor,  young  and  those  obviously  invalids  in 
life  lay  in  a  tangled  mass  all  on  an  awful  footing  of  equality 
in  silent  annihilation. 

"Within  and  above  equal  terrors  were  encountered  in  what 
at  first  seemed  countless  victims.  Lights,  patience  and  hard 
work  brought  about  some  semblance  of  system  and  at  last 
word  was  given  that  the  last  body  had  been  removed  from 
the  charnel  house.  A  large  police  detail  surrounded  the  place 
all  night  and  with  the  break  of  day  search  of  the  premises 
was  renewed,  none  being  admitted  save  by  presentation  of  a 
written  order  from  Chief  of  Police  O'Neill.  Fire  engines 
pumped  away  removing  the  lake  of  water  that  flooded  the 
basement  to  the  depth  of  ten  feet.  As  the  flood  was  lowered  it 
began  to  be  apparent  that  the  basement  was  free  of  dead. 

SURVEY  SCENE  WITH  HORROR.  . 

t 

"Searchers  gazing  down  from  the  heights  of  the  upper  bal- 
cony surveyed  the  scene  of  death  below  with  horror  stamped 
upon  their  faces.  Fire  had  left  its  terrifying  blight  in  a  color- 
less, garish  monotony  that  suggests  the  burned-out  crater  of 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  43 

an  extinct  volcano.  In  the  wreckage,  the  scattered  garments 
and  purses,  fragments  of  charred  bodies  and  other  debris 
strewn  within  thousands  of  bits  of  brilliantly  colored  glass,  lay 
as  they  fell  shattered  in  the  fight  against  the  flames.  A  few 
skulls  were  seen. 

FIND  BUSHELS  OF  PURSES. 

«...: 

"Five  bushel  baskets  were  filled  with  women's  purses  gath- 
ered by  the  police.  A  huge  pile  of  garments  was  removed  to 
a  near-by  saloon,  where  an  officer  guards  them  pending  re- 
moval to  some  more  appropriate  place.  The  shoes  and  over- 
shoes picked  up  among  the  seats  fill  two  barrels  to  overflowing. 

"The  fire  manifested  itself  in  the  flies  above  the  stage  dur- 
ing the  second  act.  The  double  octette  was  singing  'In  the  Pale 
Moonlight'  when  the  tragedy  swept  mirth  and  music  aside, 
to  give  way  to  a  more  somber  and  frightful  performance. 
Confusion  on  the  stage,  panic  in  the  auditorium,  phenomenal 
spread  of  the  incipient  blaze,  failure  of  the  asbestos  fire  curtain 
to  fall  in  place  when  lowered  followed  in  rapid  progress,  with 
the  holocaust  as  the  climax." 

But  to  return  to  the  narrative  of  what  happened  immediately 
after  the,  first  alarm,  as  gathered  by  the  collaborators  of  this 
work.  There  was  a  wild,  futile  dash — futile  because  few  of 
the  terrified  participants  succeeded  in  reaching  the  outer  air. 
Persons  in  the  rear  of  the  theater  building  knew  full  well  that 
a  holocaust  was  in  progress.  There  fire  escapes  and  stage 
doors  thronged  with  refugees,  half  clad  and  hysterical  chorus 
girls  flocking  into  the  alley,  and  crackling  flames  leaping 
higher  and  higher  from  the  flimsy  stage  and  bursting  from 
windows,  told  only  too  plainly  what  was  in  progress  within. 
At  the  front,  half  a  block  distant,  in  Randolph  street,  ominous 
silence  maintained.  A  mere  handful  of  people  burst  out,  those 


44  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER, 

who  had  occupied  rear  seats  and  pushed  by  the  ushers  who 
sought  to  restrain  them  and  quiet  their  fears.  Loiterers  about 
the  ornate-  lobby  scarcely  sniffed  a  suggestion  of  impending 
disaster  before  the  fire  apparatus  began  to  arrive  with  clanging 
bells. 

who  held  back  the  straining,  anxious  specta- 
tors who  sought  escape  at  the  first  mild  suggestion  of  clanger — 
for  what  widespread  woe  are  they  responsible  1 

Mere  boys  of  tender  years  and  meager  experience,  what 
knew  they  of  the  awful  possibilities  behind  the  spell  of  ex- 
citement upon  the>  stage  ?  Only  two  weeks  before  there  had 
been  an  incipient  blaze  there  that  had  b^en  extinguished  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  audience. 

Like  all  the  rest  of  the  world  that  now  stands  in  shuddering 
wonderment,  these  boys  scoffed  at  the  thought  of  real  danger 
in  the  massive  pile  of  steel,  stone  and  terra  cotta;  with  its 
brave  and  shimmering  veneer  of  glistening  marble,  stained 
glass  of  many  hues,  rich  tapestries  and  drapings,  and  cold, 
aristocratic  tints  of  red  and  old  gold.  And  so  with  uplifted 
hands  they  turned  back  those  whose  sense  of  caution  prompted 
them  to  leave  at  the  outset.  Surely  disaster  could  not  overtake 
the  regal  Iroquois  in  its  first  flush  of  pomp,  pride  and  supe- 
riority. It  was  their  sacred  duty  to ,  see  that  no  unseemly 
break  marred  the  decorum  established  for  the  guidance  of 
audiences  at  the  Iroquois,  and  that  duty  was  fully  discharged. 
.  Thus  it  was  that  the  wild  hegira  did  not  begin  from  the 
front  until  the  arrival  of  the  fire  department.  Then  pande- 
monium itself  broke  loose.  All  restraining  influences  from 
the  stage  had  ceased.  At  the  appearance  of  the  all-consuming 
wave  of  flame  sweeping  across  the  auditorium  the  boy  ushers 
abandoned  their  posts  and  fled  for  their  lives,  leaving  the 
packed  audience  to  do  the  same  unhampered.  V/ 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  *£ 

Unhampered — not  quite"!  Darkness  descending  upon  the 
scene,  doors  locked  against  the  frightened  multitude,  fire  es- 
capes cut  off  by  tongues  of  flame  and  exits  and  stairways 
choked  with  the  bodies  of  those  who  died  fighting  to  reach 
safety  hampered  many — at  least  the  six  hundred  carried  out 
later  mangled  and  roasted,  tlieir  features  and  limbs  twisted  and 
distorted  until  little  semblance  to  humanity  remained^- After 
the  first  wild  dash,  in  which  a  large  portion  of  those  on  the 
main  floor  escaped,  the  blackness  of  night  settled  upon  the  long 
marble  foyer  leading  from  Randolph  street  to  the  auditorium 
It  settled  in  a  cloud  of  black,  fire  laden  smoke — death  in  nebu- 
lous  forms  defying  fire  fighter  and  rescuer  alike  to  enter  the 
great  corridor.  None  entered,  and,  more  pitiful  still,  none 
came  forth. 

While  this  situation  maintained  in  front  a  vastly  different 
scene  unfolded  in  the  rear.  The  theater  formed  a  great  L, 
extending  north  from  Randolph  street  to  an  alley  and,  in  the 
rear,  west  to  Dearborn  street.  This  last  projection,  the  toe 
of  the  L,  was  occupied  by  the  stage,  theoretically  the  finest  in 
America,  if  not  in  the  world.  Thus  the  auditorium  and  stage 
occupied  the  extreme  northern  part  of  the  structure,  parallel- 
ing an  alley  extending  on  a  line  with  Randolph  street  from 
State  street  to  Dearborn  street.  This  alley  wall  was  pierced 
by  many  windows  and  emergency  exits  and  was  studded  with 
fire  escapes  built  in  the  form  of  iron  galleries,  and  stairways 
hugging  close  to  the  wall  leading  to  the  alley. 

To  these  exits  and  the  long,  grim  galleries  of  fire  escapes  the 
herded,  fire-hunted  audience  surged.  Those  who  reached  doors 
that  responded  to  their  efforts  found  themselves  pushed  along 
the  galleries  by  the  resistless  crush  behind.  As  was  the  case 
In  front,  half  way  to  safety  another  stream  of  humanity  was 
«xcountered  pouring  out  at  right  angles  from  another  portion 


46  1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

of  the  house.  Coming  together  with  the  impact  of  opposing 
armies  the  two  hosts  of  refugees  gave  unwilling  and  terrible 
answer  to  the  time  worn  problem  as  to  the  outcome  of  an  ir- 
resistible force  encountering  an  immovable  body.  Both  in 
front  and  rear  great  mounds  of  dead  spelled  annihilation  as 
the  answer.  In  front  over  200  corpses  piled  in  a  twenty-foot 
angle  of  a  stairway  where  two  balcony  exits  merged  told  the 
terrible  tale,  and  rendered  both  passages  useless  for  egress, 
the  dead  being  piled  up  in  wall-like  formation  ten  feet  high. 

In  the  rear  an  alley  strewn  with  mangled  men,  women  and 
children  writhing  in  agony  on  the  icy,  pavement,  or  relieved 
of  their  sufferings  by  death,  lent  eloquent  corroboration  to  the 
solution  of  the  problem. 

It  was  in  the  rear  that  the  true  horror  of  the  fire  was  most 
fully  disclosed.  There  no  towering  mosaic  studded  walls  or 
kindly  mantle  of  smoke  shut  out  the  horrid  sight.  From  its 
opening  scene  to  its  silent,  ghastly  denouement  the  successive 
details  of  this  greatest  of  modern  tragedies  was  forced  upon 
the  view  to  be  stamped  upon  the  memory  of  the  unwilling  be- 
holder with  an  impressiveness  that  only  death  will  blot  out. 

After  the  first  great  impact  had  hurled  the  overflow  of  the 
fire-escape  gallery  into  the  alley  yawning  far  below,  the  crush 
of  humanity  swept  onward,  downward  to  where  safety  beck- 
oned. \Yhen  the  advance  guard  had  all  but  reached  the  pre-  " 
cious  goal,  with  only  a  few  feet  of  iron  gallery  and  one  more 
stairway  to  traverse,  the  crowning  horror  of  the  day  unfolded 
itself.  Right  in  the  path  of  the  advancing  horde  a  steel  win- 
dow shutter  flew  back,  impelled  by  the  terrific  energy  of  an 
immeasurable  volume  of  pent  up  superheated  air. 

The  clang  of  the  steel  shutter  swinging  back  on  its  hinges 
against  the  brick  wall  sounded  the  death  knell  of  another  host 
of/victims,  for  in  its  wake  came  a  huge  tongue  of  lurid  flame 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  4.7 

leaping  on  high  in  the  ecstasy  of  release  from  its  stifling  fur- 
nace. Fiercely  in  the  faces  of  the  refugees  beat  this  agency 
of  death.  Before  its  withering  blast  the  victims  fell  like 
prairie  grass  before  an  autumn  blaze.  Those  further  back 
waited  for  no  more,  but  precipitated  themselves  headlong  into 
the  alley  rather  than  face  the  fiery  furnace  that  loomed  up 
barring  the  way  to  hope. 

It  would  be  well  to  draw  the  curtain  upon  this  awful  scene 
of  suffering  and  death  in  the  gloomy  alley  were  it  not  for 
one  circumstance  that  stands  forth  a  glorious  example  of  the 
heights  that  may  be  attained  by  the  modest  hero  who  moves 
about  unsuspected  in  his  daily  life  until  calamity  affords  op- 
portunity to  show  the  stuff  he  is  made  of.  High  up  in  the 
building  occupied  by  the  law,  dental  and  pharmacy  schools  of 
the  Northwestern  University,  directly  across  the  alley  from  the 
burning  theater,  a  number  of  such  men  were  at  work.  They 
were  horny  handed  sons  of  toil — painters,  paper  hangers  and 
cleaners  repairing  minor  damage  caused  by  an  insignificant 
fire  in  the  university  building  a  few  weeks  before.  One  glance 
at  the  seething  vortex  of  death  below  transformed  them  into 
heroes  whose  deeds  would  put  many  a  man  to  shame  whose 
memory  is  kept  alive  by  stately  column  or  flattering  memorial 
tablet. 

Trailing  heavy  planks  used  by  them  in  the  erection  of 
working  scaffolds,  they  rushed  to  a  window  in  the  lecture 
room  of  the  law  school  directly  opposite  the  exit  and  fire  escape 
platform  leading  from  the  topmost  balcony  of  the  theater.  By 
almost  superhuman  effort  and  ingenuity  they  raised  aloft  the 
planks,  scarce  long  enough  to  span  the  abyss,  and  dropped 
them.  The  prayers  of  thousands  below  and  a  multitude  stifling 
in  the  aperture  opposite  were  raised  that  the  planks  might 
fall  true.  All  eyes  followed  their  course  as  they  poised  in  mid- 


48  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

air,  then  descended.  Slow  seemed  their  fall,  a  veritable  period 
of  torture,  and  awed  silence  reigned  as  they  dropped. 

Then  there  arose  a  glad  cry.  With  a  crash  the  great  planks 
landed  true,  the  free  ends  squarely  upon  the  edge  of  the  plat- 
form of  the  useless  fire  escape,  the  others  resting  firmly  upon 
the  narrow  window  ledge  where  the  painters  stood  defying 
flame,  smoke  and  torrents  of  burning  embers  and  blazing 
sparks  hurled  upon  them  as  from  the  crater  of  a  volcano. 

Death  alley  had  been  bridged!  Across  the  narrow  span 
came  a  volume  of  bedraggled  humanity  as  though  shot  from 

.  » 

a  gun.  A  mad,  screaming  stream,  pushed  on  by  those  behind, 
simply  whirled  across  the  frail  support,  direct  from  the  very 
jaws  of  death,  the  blistering  gates  of  hell. 

Only  for  a  moment,  a  brief  second  it  seemed,  the  wild  pro- 
cession moved.  Yet  in  that  limited  period  scores,  perhaps 
hundreds,  poured  from  the  seething  inferno — practically  all 
that  escaped  from  the  lofty  balcony  that  was  a  moment  later 
transformed  into  the  death  chamber  of  helpless  hundreds. 
Then  the  wave  of  flame,  previously  described,  swept  over  the 
interior  of  the  theater,  greedily  searching  every  nook  and  cor- 
ner as  though  hungry  for  the  last  victim  within  reach. 

The  last  refugees  to  cross  the  narrow  span,  the  dizzy  line 
sharply  drawn  between  life  and  death  in  its  most  terrifying  as- 
pect, staggered  over  with  their  clothing  in  flames,  gasping, 
fainting  with  pain  and  terror.  The  workmen,  students  and 
policemen  who  had  rushed  to  their  assistance  dashed  across 
into  the  heat  and  smoke  and  dragged  forth  many  more  who 
had  reached  the  platform  only  to  fall  before  the  deadly  blast. 
Then  the  rescuers  were  beaten  back  and  the  fire  fiend  was  left 
to  claim  its  own. 

And  claim  them  it  did,  searching  them  out  with  ruminating 
tongues  of  flame  Over  every  inch  of  paint  and  decoration,, 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  49 

,  \ 

every  tapestry,  curtain  and  seat  top  it  licked  its  way  with 
insinuating  eagerness.  It  pursued  its  victims  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  the  theater  walls,  grasping  in  its  deadly  embrace  those 
who  lay  across  windows  or  prostrate  on  galleries  and  plat- 
forms. Thousands  gazed  on  in  helpless  horror,  watching  the 
flames  bestow  a  fatal  caress  upon  many  who  had  crept  far,  far 
from  the  blaze  and  almost  into  a  zone  of  safety.  With  a  glid- 

v 

ing,  caressing  movement  that  made  beholders'  blood  run  cold 
it  crept  upon  such  victims,  hovered  a  moment  and  glided  on 
with  sinuous  motion  and  what  approached  a  suggestion  of 
intelligence  in  searching  out  those  who  fled  before  it.  A  shriek, 
a  spasmodic  movement  and  the  victims  lay  still,  their  earthly 
troubles  over  forever. 

A  few  minutes  later,  possibly  not  more  than  half  an  hour 
after  the  discovery  of  the  fire,  when  the  firemen  had  beaten 
back  the  flames  to  the  raging  stage  another  procession  moved 
across  that  same  plank  again.  It  moved  in  silence,  for  it  was 
a  procession  of  death.  The  great  tragedy  began  and  ended 
in  fifteen  minutes.  Its  echoes  may  roll  down  as  many  cen- 
turies, compelling  the  proper  safeguarding  of  all  places  of 
amusement,  in  America  at  least.  Tf  so,  the  Iroquois  victims 
did  not  give  up  their  lives  in  vain. 

When  the  removal  of  the  victims  across  the  improvised 
bridge  over  death  alley  ended  the  tireless  official  in  charge  of 
that  work,  James  Markham,  secretary  to  Chief  of  Police 
O'Neill,  had  checked  off  102  corpses.  No  attempt  was  made  to 
keep  count  of  the  dead  as  they  were  removed  from  other  por- 
tions of  the  theater  and  by  other  exits.  The  counting  was 
done  when  the  patrol  wagons,  ambulances,  trucks  and  delivery 
wagons  used  in  removing  the  dead  deposited  their  ghastly 
loads  at  the  morgues, 

The  instance  cited  was  not  an  isolated  example  of  heroism, 


50    ,          IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

but  rather  merely  a  striking  instance  among  scores.  Police, 
firemen  and  citizens  vied  with  each  other  in  the  work  of  hu- 
manity. Merchants  drove  out  customers  and  threw  open  their 
business  houses  as  temporary  hospitals  and  morgues.  Others 
donated  great  wagon  loads  of  blankets  and  supplies  of  all 
kinds  and  the  municipal  government  was  embarrassed  by  the 
unsolicited  relief  funds  that  poured  in.  All  manner  of  vehicles 
were  given  freely  for  the  removal  of  dead  and  injured.  So 
informal  was  the  removal  of  the  latter  that  many  may  have 
reached  their  homes  unreported.  For  that  reason  a  complete 
list  of  the  injured  may  never  be  secured. 

An  illustration  of  the  possibilities  in  that  direction  is  found 
in  the  case  of  one  man  who  wrapped  the  dead  body  of  his  wife 
in  his  overcoat  and  carried  it  to  Evanston,  many  miles  away, 
where  the  circumstances  became  known  days  later  when  a 
burial  permit  was  sought.  Another  is  the  case  of  an  injured 
man  who  revived  on  a  dead  wagon  en  route  to  a  morgue  and 
was  removed  by  friends.  •• 

All  these  and  other  details  are  elaborated  upon  elsewhere, 
together  with  the  touching  story  of  the  scores  of  young  women 
employed  in  the  production,  "Mr.  Bluebeard,"  who  would 
have  been  stranded  penniless  in  a  strange  city  a  thousand  miles 
from  home  but  for  the  prompt  and  noble  relief  afforded  by 
Mrs.  Ogden  Armour. 


CHAPTER  II. 

V 

FIRST  AID  TO  THE  INJURED  AND  CARE  FOR  THE 

DEAD. 

On  the  heels  of  the  firemen  came  the  police,  intent  on  the 
work  of  rescue.  Chief  O'Neill  and  Assistant  Chief  Schuettler 
ordered  captains  from  a  dozen  stations  to  bring  their  men,  and 
then  they  rushed  to  the  theater  and  led  the  police  up  the  stairs 
to  the  landing  outside  the  east  entrance  to  the  first  balcony. 

The  firemen,  rushing  blindly  up  the  stairs  in  the  dense  pall 
of  smoke,  had  found  their  path  suddenly  blocked  by  a  wall  of 
dead  eight  or  ten  feet  high.  They  discovered  many  persons 
alive  and  carried  them  to  safety.  Other  firemen  crawled  over 
the  mass  of  dead  and  dragged  their  hose  into  the  theater  to 
fight  back  the  flames  that  seemed  to  be  crawling  nearer  to  turn 
the  fatal  landing  into. a  funeral  pyre. 

O'Neill  and  Schuettler  immediately  began  carrying  the  dead 
from  the  balcony,  while  other  policemen  went  to  the  gallery  to 
begin  the  work  there. 

In  the  great  mass  of  dead  at  the  entrance  to  the  first  balcony 
the  bodies  were  so  terribly  interwoven  that  it  was  impossible 
at  first  to  take  any  one  out. 

•"Look  out  for  the  living!"  shouted  the  chief  to  his  men. 
"Try  to  find  those  who  are  alive." 

From  somewhere  came  a  faint  moaning  cry. 

"Some  one  alive  there,  boys,"  came  the  cry.  "Lively,  now !' 

fil 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


The  firemen  and  police  long  struggled  in  vain  to  move  the 
bodies. 

The  raging  tide  of  humanity  pouring  out  of  the  east  en- 
trance of  the  balcony  during  the  panic  had  met  the  fighting, 
struggling  crowd  coming  down  the  stairs  from  the  third  bal- 
cony at  right  angles.  The  two  streams  formed  a  whirlpool 
which  ceased  its  onward  progress  and  remained  there  on  the 
landing  where  people  stamped  each  other  under  foot  in  that 
mad  circle  of  death. 

In  a  short  time  the  blockade  in  the  fatal  angle  must  have 
been  complete.  Then  into  this  awful  heap  still  plunged  the 
contrary  tides  of  humanity  from  each  direction.  Many  tried 
to  crawl  over  the  top  of  the  heap,  but  were  drawn  down  to  the 
grinding  mill  of  death  underneath.  The  smoke  was  heavy  at 
the  fatal  angle,  for  the  majority  of  those  taken  out  at  that 
point  bore  no  marks  of  bruises. 

Many,  and  especially  the  children,  were  trampled  to  death, 
but  others  were  held  as  ir\  a  vise  until  the  smoke  had  choked  the 
life  from  their  bodies. 

It  was  toward  this  that  the  firemen  directed  O'Neill  and 
Schuettler  as  they  rushed  into  the  theater.  The  smoke  was 
still  heavy  and  the  great  gilded  marble  foyer  of  the  "handsom- 
est theater  in  America"  was  somber  and  dark  and  still  as  a 
tomb,  except  for  the  whistling  of  the  engines  outside  and  now 
and  then  the  shouting  of  the  firemen.  Water  was  dripping 
everywhere  and  stood  inches  deep  on  the  floor  and  stairs. 

Two  flickering  lanterns  shed  the  only  light  by  which  the 
policemen  worked,  and  this  very  fact,  perhaps,  made  their  task 
more  horrible  and  gruesome,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible. 


. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  53 

GREAT     PILE     OF     CHARRED     BODIES     FOUND 
EVERYWHERE  IN  THEATER. 

All  through  the  gallery  the  bodies  were  found.  Some  were 
those  of  persons  who  had  decided-  to  stay  in  their  seats  and 
not  to  join  in  the  mad  rush  for  the  doors  and  run  the  risk  of 
being  trampled  to  death.  Many  of  them  no  doubt  had  trusted 
to  the  cries,  "There  is  no  danger;  keep  your  seats!" 

They  had  stuck  to  their  seats  until,  choked  by  the  heavy 
smoke,  they  had  been  unable  to  move. 

?.  Some  bodies  were  in  a  sitting  position,  while  others  had 

/fallen  forward,  with  the  head  resting  on  the  seat  in  front,  as 

/  though  in  prayer.    Almost  all  were  terribly  burned. 

i         In  the  aisles  lay  women  and  children  who  had  staid  in  their 

seats  until  they  finally  were  convinced  that  the  danger  was 


real.    Then  they  had  attempted  to  get  to  the  door. 

The  smoke  was  so  heavy  the  firemen  worked  with  difficulty, 
but  finally  it  cleared  and  workmen  who  were  hastily  sent  by 
the  Edison  company  equipped  forty  arc  lights,  which  shone 
bravely  through  the  smoke.  With  this  help  the  firemen 
searched  to  better  effect,  and  found  bodies  that  in  the  blackness 
they  had  missed. 

"Give  that  girl  to  some  one  else  and  get  back  there,"  shouted 
Chief  Musham  to  a  fireman.  The  fireman  never  answered  but 
kept  on  with  his  burden. 

"Hand  that  girl  to  some  one  else,"  shouted  the  battalion 
chief. 

The  fireman  looked  up.  Even  in  the  flickering  light  of  the 
lantern  the  chief  carried  one  could  see  the  tears  coming  from 
the  red  eyes  and  falling  down  the  man's  blackened  cheeks. 

"Chief,"  said  the  fireman,  "I've  got  a  girl  like  this  at 
home.  I  want  to  carry  this  one  out." 


54  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

* 

"Go  ahead,"  said  the  chief.  The  little  group  working  at 
the  head  of  the  stairs  broke  apart  while  the  fireman,  holding 
the  body  tightly,  made  his  way  slowly  down  the  stairs. 

One  by  one  the  dead  were  taken  from  the  pile  in  the  angle. 
The  majority  of  them  were  women.  On  some  faces  was  an 
expression  of  terrible  agony,  but  on  others  was  a  look  of  calm- 
ness and  serenity,  and  firemen  sometimes  found  it  hard  to 
believe  they  were  dead.  Three  firemen  carried  the  body  of  a 
young  woman  down  the  stairs  in  a  rubber  blanket.  She  ap- 
peared alive.  Her  hands  were  clasped  and  held  flowers.  Her 
eyes  were  closed  and  she  seemed  almost  to  smile.  She  looked 
as  though  she  was  asleep,  but  it  was  the  sleep  of  death. 

In  the  dark  and  smoke,  with  the  dripping  water  and  the 
dead  piled  in  heaps  everywhere,  the  Iroquois  theater  had  been 
turned  into  a  tomb  by  the  time  the  rescue  oarties  had  begun 
their  work. 

» 

MOAN  INSPIRES  WORKERS  IN  MAD  EFFORT  TO 

SAVE. 

The  moan  that  the  frantic  workers  heard  as  they  struggled 
to  untangle  the  mass  of  bodies  gave  the  police  hope  that  many 
in  the  heap  might  be  alive. 

"We  can't  do  it,  chief,"  shouted  one  of  the  policemen.  "We 
can't  untangle  them." 

"We  must  take  these  bodies  out  of  the  way  to  get  down  to 
those  who  are  alive,"  replied  the  chief.  "This  man  here  is 
dead;  lay  hold,  now,  boys,  and  pull  him  out." 

Two  big  firemen  caught  the  body  by  the  shoulders  and 
struggled  and  pulled  until  they  had  it  free.  Then  another 
body  was  taken  out,  and  then  again  the  workers  seemed  un- 
able to  unloose  the  dead.  Again  came  that  terrible  moan 
through  the  mass. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  55 

"For  God's  sake,  get  down  to  that  one  who's  alive,"  im- 
plored O'Neill,  almost  ill  despair. 

The  policemen  pulled  off  their  heavy  overcoats  and  worked 
frantically  at  the  heap.  Often  a  body  could  not  be  moved  ex- 
cept when  the  firemen  and  police  dragged  with  a  "yo,  heave," 
like  sailors  hauling  on  a  rope.  As  fast  as  the  bodies  were 
freed  one  policeman,  or  sometimes  two  or  three,  would  stag- 
ger down  the  stairs  with  their  burdens. 

Over  the  heap  of  bodies  crawled  a  fireman  carrying  some- 
thing in  his  arms. 

"Out  of  the  way,  men,  let  me  out!    The  kid's  alive." 

The  workers  fell  back  and  the  fireman  crawled  over  the  heap 
and  was  helped  out.  He  ran  down  the  stairs  three  steps  at  a 
time  to  get  the  child  to  a  place  where  help  might  be  given 
before  it  was  too  late.  Then  other  firemen  from  inside  the 
theater  passed  out  more  bodies,  which  were  handed  from  one 
policeman  to  another  until  some  on  the  outside  of  the  heap 
could  take  the  dead  and  carry  them  downstairs. 

Suddenly  a  policeman  pulling  at  the  heap  gave  a  shout. 

"I've  got  her,  chief !"  he  said.    "She's  alive,  all  right !" 

"Easy  there,  men,  easy,"  cried  Schuettler;  "but  hurry  and 
get  that  woman  to  a  doctor !" 

A  girl,  apparently  18  years  old,  was  moaning  faintly.  The 
policeman  released  her  from  the  tangled  heap,  and  a  big  fire- 
man, lifting  her  tenderly  in  his  arms,  hurried  with  her  to  the 
outside  of  the  building. 

"There  must  be  more  alive,"  said  the  chief.  "Work  hard, 
boys." 

There  was  hardly  any  need  to  ask  the  men  to  work  harder, 
for  they  were  pulling  and  hauling  as  though  their  own  lives 
depended  on  their  efforts.  Everybody  worked. 

The  reporters,  the  only  ones  in  ,the  theater  besides  the  police 


S6  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

and  firemen,  laid  aside  their  pencils  and  note  books  and  strug1 
gled  down  the  wet,  slippery  stairs,  carrying  the  dead.  News- 
paper artists  threw  their  sketch  books  on  the  floor  to  jump 
forward  and  pick  up  the  feet  or  head  of  a  body  that  a  fireman 
or  policeman  found  too  heavy  to  carry  alone.  Constantly  now 
a  stream  of  workers  was  passing  slowly  down  the  stairs. 
Usually  two  men  supported  each  body,  but  often  some  giant 
policeman  or  fireman  strode  along  with  a  body  swung  over  his 
shoulders.  Coming  down  the  stairs  was  a  fireman  with  a  girl 
of  1 6  clasped  in  his  arms. 

"Isn't  that  girl  alive?"  asked  the  chief. 

"No,"  shouted  two  or  three  men,  who  had  jumped  to  see. 
"She's  dead,  poor  thing,  rest  her  soul,"  said  the  fireman  rever- 
ently, and  then  he  picked  his  way  down  the  stairs.  Half-way 
down  the  marble  steps  two  arms  suddenly  clasped  the  fireman's 
neck. 

He  started  so  he  missed  his  footing  and  would  have  fallen 
had  not  a  policeman  steadied  him. 

"She's  alive,  she's  alive  1"  shouted  the  fireman.  "Git  out 
of  the  way,  there,  out  of  the  way,  men,"  and  he  went  dashing 
headlong  out  into  the  open  air  and  through  the  crowd  to  a 
drug  store. 

One  child  after  another  was  taken  from  the  heap  and  passed 
out  to  be  carried  downstairs.  Some  were  little  boys  in  new 
suits,  sadly  torn,  and  with  their  poor  little  faces  wreathed  in 
agony.  On  their  foreheads  was  the  seal  of  death. 

A  big  fireman  came  crawling  from  the  heavy  smoke  of  the 
inner  balcony.  He  carried  a  girl  of  10  years  in  his  arms.  Her 
Icng,  flaxen  hair  half  covered  the  pure  white  face. 

A  gray  haired  man  with  a  gash  on  his  head  apparently  had 
fallen  down  the  stairs.  A  woman's  face  bore  the  mark  of  a 
boot  heel.  A  woman  with  a  little  boy  clasped  tight  in  her 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  57 

arms  was  wedged  into  a  corner.  Her  clothes  were  almost  torn 
from  her,'  and  her  face  was  bruised.  TJ«r£hild  was  unmarked, 
as  she  had  thrown  her  own  body  over  tfis  to  protect  him. 

Out  of  the  mass  of  bodies  when  the  police  began  their  work 
protruded  one  slender  little  white  hand,  clinching  a  pair  of 
pearl  opera  glasses,  which  the  little  owner  had  tried  to  save, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  her  own  life  was  being  crushed  out  of 
her.  Watches,  pocketbooks  and  chatelaine  bags  were  scattered 
all  through  the  pile.  One  man  was  detailed  to  make  a  bag  out 
of  a  rubber  coat  and  take  care  of  the  property  that  was  handed 
to  him. 

While  the  police  were  working  so  desperately  at  the  fatal 
angle,  another  detail  of  police  and  firemen  were  working  on  the 
third  floor.  At  the  main  entrance  of  the  gallery  lay  another 
heap  of  bodies,  and  there  was  still  another  at  the  angle  of  the 
head  of  the  stairs  leading  to  the  floor  below.  Here  the  sight 
was  even  worse  than  the  terrible  scene  presented  at  the  landing 
of  the  first  balcony. 

The  bodies  on  the  landing  were  not  burned.  A  jam  had 
come  there,  and  many  had  been  stamped  under  foot  and  either 
killed  outright  or  left  to  suffocate.  Many  of  the  bodies  were 
almost  stripped  of  clothing  and  bore  the  marks  of  remorseless 
heels.  ^  <T$ 

After  these  had  been  carried  out,  the  firemen  ^returned 
Hgain  and  again  from  the  pitchy  blackness  of  the  smoke-filled 
galleries,  dragging  bodies,  burned  sometimes  beyond  recogni- 
tion. 

NONE  LEFT  ALIVE  IN  GALLERY. 

While  now  and  then  some  one  had  been  found  alive  in  the 
other  fatal  angle,  no  one  was  rescued  by  searchers  in  the  top 
gallerv.  The  bodies  had  to  be  laid  along  the  hall  until  th* 


58  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

merchants  in  State  street  began  sending  over  blankets.  Men 
from  the  streets  came  rushing  up  the  stairs,  bending  under  the 
weight  of  the  blankets  they  carried  on  their  shoulders.  Soon 
they  went  back  to  the  street  again,  this  time  carrying  their 
blankets  weighed  down  with  a  charred  body. 

DEAD  AND  DYING  CARRIED  INTO  NEARBY  RES- 
TAURANT BY  SCQRES. 

The  scenes  in  John  R.  Thompson's  restaurant  in  Randolph 
street,  adjoining  the  theater,  were  ghastly  beyond  words. 

Few  half  hours  in  battle  bring  more  of  horror  than  the  half 
hour  that  turned  the  cafe  into  a  charnel  house,  with  its  tumbled 
heaps  of  corpses,  its  shrieks  of  agony  from  the  dying,  and  the 
confusion  of  doctors  and  nurses  working  madly  over  bodies  all 
about  as  they  strove  to  bring  back  the  spark  of  life. 

Bodies  were  everywhere — piled  along  the  walls,  laid  across 
tables,  and  flung  down  here  and  there — some  charred  beyond 
recognition,  some  only  scorched,  and  others  black  from  suffo- 
cation; some  crushed  in  the  rush  of  the  panic,  others  but  the 
poor,  broken  remains  of  those  who  leaped  into  death.  And 
most  of  them — almost  all  of  them — were  the  forms  of  women 
and_children.)  It  is  estimated  that  more  than  150  bodies  were 
accounted  for  in  Thompson's  alone. 

The  continuous  tramp  of  the  detachments  of  police  bearing 
in  more  bodies,  the  efforts  of  the  doctors  to  restore  life,  and 
the  madness  of  those  who  surged  in  through  the  police  lines  to 
ransack  piles  of  bodies  for  relatives  and  friends,  made  up  a 
scene  of  pandemonium  of  which  it  is  hard  to  form  a  concep- 
tion. There  was  organization  of  the  fifty  physicians  and 
nurses  who  fought  back  death  in  the  dying;  there  was  organi- 
zation of  the  police  and  firemen;  but  still  the  restaurant  was 
a  chaos  that  left  the  head  bewildered  and  the  heart  sick. 


,  IRQQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  59 

The  work  was  too  much  for  even  the  big  force  of  doctors 
that  had  flocked  there  to  volunteer  their  services.  Everybody 
in  which  there  was  the  slightest  semblance  of  life  was  given 
over  to  the  physicians,  who  with  oxygen  tanks  and  resuscita- 
tive  movements  sought  to  revive  the  heart  beats.  As  soon  as 
death  was  certain  the  body  was  drawn  from  the  table  and  laid 
beneath,  to  give  place  to  another.  But  systematic  as  was  this 
effort,  heaps  of  bodies  remained  which  the  doctors  had  not 
touched. 

In  a  dozen  instances,  even  when  the  end  of  the  work  was  in 
sight,  a  hand  or  foot  was  seen  to  move  in  this  or  that  heap. 
Instantly  three  or  four  doctors  were  bending  over  rolling  away 
the  dead  bodies  to  drag  forth  one  still  warm  with  life.  In  a 
thrice  the  body  was  on  a  table  and  the  oxygen  turned  on  while 
the  doctors  worked  with  might  and  main  to  force  respiration. 
Almost  always  it  was  in  vain — life  went  out  Two  or  three 
were  resuscitated,  though  it  is  uncertain  with  what  chances  of 
ultimate  recovery.  One  of  these  was  a  Mrs.  Harbaugh,  whq 
had  been  brought  in  for  dead  and  her  body  tossed  among  the 
lifeless  forms  that  ranged  the  walls. 

When  the  first  rush  of  people  from  the  theater  gave  notice 
of  the  fire  to  persons  in  the  street  there  were  less  than  a  score 
of  patrons  in  the  restaurant.  These  rushed  into  the  street,  too, 
while  a  panic  spread  among1  the  waitresses  and  kitchen  force. 
By  this  time  fire  company  13  was  on  the  ground  in  the  alley 
side  of  the  theater  and  the  police  were  at  the  front  attempting 
to  lead  the  audience  from  its  peril  with  some  semblance  of 
order.  In  another  minute  women  and  children  with  blistered 
faces  were  dashing  screaming  into  the  street,  taking  refuge 
in  the  first  doorways  at  hand. 

Another  minute,  and  every  policeman  knew  in  his  heart  the 
horror  that  was  at  hand.  A  patrolman  dashed  into  Thomp- 


60  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER, 

son's  and  ordered  the  tables  cleared  and  arranged  to  care  for 
the  injured.  Captain  Gibbons  dispatched  another  policeman 
to  issue  a  general  call  for  physicians  and  a  detachment  to  take 
charge  of  the  restaurant  and  the  first  aid  to  be  administered 
there.  Within  five  minutes  the  first  of  the  injured  were  being 
laid  on  the  marble  topped  dining  tables  where  the  police  ambu- 
lance corps  were  getting  at  work. 

These  steps  scarcely  had  been  taken  when  word  came  from 
the  burning  theater  that  the  fire  was  under  control,  but  that 
the  loss  of  life  would  be  appalling.  Chief  O'Neill  hurried  to 
the  scene,  sending  back  word  as  he  ran  that  Secretary  James 
Markham  should  summon  doctors  and  ambulances  from  every 
place  available.  The  west  side  district  of  the  medical  schools 
and  hospitals  was  called  upon  to  send  all  the  volunteers  pos- 
sible, together  with  hospital  equipment.  One  hundred  stud- 
ents from  Rush  Medical  College  were  soon  on  their  way  by 
street  car  and  patrol  wagon  to  the  scene, 

TERRIBLE   REALITY  COMES   TO   AWESTRICKEN 

CROWD. 

It  was  only  fifteen  minutes  after  the  first  tongue  of  flame 
shot  out  from  behind  the  scenes  that  a  lull  came  in  the  awful 
drama  of  death  within  the  theater.  The  firemen  had  quenched 
the  fire  and  all  the  living  had  escaped.  All  that  remained  were 
dead.  But  now  the  scenes  within  the  improvised  hospital  and 
morgue  rose  to  the  height  of  their  horror. 

But  for  a  narrow  lane  the  length  of  the  cafe  the  floor  was 
covered  with  bodies  or  ihe  tumbled  bundles  of  clothing  that 
told  where  a  body  was  concealed.  And  over  the  scene  of  the 
dead  rose  the  groans  of  the  tortured  beings  who  writhed  upon 
the  tables  in  the  throes  of  their  passing.  And  over  the  cries 
of  the  suffering  rose  the  shouts  of  command  of  the  Red  Cross 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER  61 

corps — now  the  directions  of  Dr.  Lydston  as  to  attempts  at 
resuscitation,  now  the  megaphone  shouts  of  Senator  Clark 
ordering  the  disposition  of  bodies  and  the  organization  of  the 
constantly  arriving  volunteer  nurses. 

In  the  narrow  lane  of  the  dead  surged  the  policemen,  bring- 
ing ever  more  and  more  forms  to  cord  up  beneath  the  tables. 
Then  came  the  press  of  people,  who,  frantic  with  anxiety,  had 
beaten  back  the  police  guard  to  look  for  loved  ones  in  the  char- 
nel  house.  There  was  Louis  Wolff,  Jr.,  searching  for  two 
nephews  and  his  sister.  There  was  Postmaster  Coyne,  who 
had  hurried  from  a  meeting  of  the  crime  committee  to  lend  his 
aid.  There  were  Aldermen  Minwegen  and  Alderman  Bade- 
noch,  and  besides  them  scores  of  men  and  women  anxiously 
looking  and  looking,  and  nerving  themselves  to  fear  the  worst 

"Have  you  found  Miss  Helen  McCaughan  ?"  shrieked  a  hys- 
terical woman.  "She's  from  the  Yale  apartments,  and " 

"I'm  looking  for  a  Miss  Errett — she's  a  nurse,"  cried  an- 
other. 

"My  little  boy — Charles  Hennings — have  you  found  him, 
doctor?"  came  from  another. 

From  every  side  came  the  heartrending  appeals,  while  the 
din  was  so  great  that  no  single  plaint  rose  above  the  volume  of 
sounds.    And  all  the  time  the  doorway  was  a  place  of  frightful' 
sights. 

"O,  please  go  back  for  my  little  girl,**  gasped  a  woman 
whose  face  and  hands  were  a  blister  and  whose  clothing  was 
burned  to  the  skin.  She  staggered  across  the  threshold  and 
fell  prone.  Her  last  breath  had  gone  out  of  her  when  two 
policemen  snatched  up  the  body  and  bore  it  to  an  operating 
table. 

"O,  where's  my  Annie?"  screamed  another  woman,  horribly 
burned  -,~hrr?  *wo  policemen  supported  between  them  into  the 


62  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

restaurant.  But  at  the  word  she  collapsed,  and,  though  three 
physicians  worked  over  her  for  ten  minutes,  she  never 
breathed  again. 

ONE  LIFE  BROUGHT  BACK  FROM  DEATH. 

Of  a  sudden  Dr.  E.  E.  Vaughan  saw  a  finger  move  in  a 
mass  of  the  dead  against  the  far  wall  of  the  restaurant. 

"Men,  there's  a  live  one  in  there,"  he  cried,  and,  while  others 
came  running,  the  physician  flung  aside  the  bodies  till  he  had 
uncovered  a  woman  of  middle  age,  terribly  burned  about  the 
face,  and  with  her  outer  garments  a  mass  of  charred  shreds. 

In  a  second  the  woman  was  undergoing  resuscitative  treat- 
ment on  a  table,  while  the  oxygen  streamed  into  her  lungs. 
Two  doctors  worked  her  arms  like  pumps,  while  a  nurse  man- 
ipulated the  region  of  the  heart.  At  length  there  was  a  flutter 
of  a  respiration,  while  a  doctor  bending  over  with  his  stetho- 
scope announced  a  heart  beat  just  perceptible.  Another  minute 
passed  and  the  eyelids  moved,  while  a  groan  escaped  the  lips. 

"She  lives !"  simply  said  Dr.  Vaughan,  as  .he  ordered  the 
oxygen  tube  removed  and  brandy  forced  between  the  lips.  In 
five  minutes  the  woman  was  saved  from  immediate  death,  at 
least,  though  suffering  terribly  from  burns.  She  was  just  able 
to  murmur  that  her  name  was  Mrs.  Harbaugh,  but  that  was 
all  that  could  be  learned  of  her  identity  before  she  was  taken 
away  to  a  hospital. 

ONE  HUNDRED  FEET  IN  AIR,  POLICE  CARRY  IN- 
JURED ACROSS  ALLEY. 

Over  a  narrow,  ice  covered  bridge  made  of  scaffold  planks, 
more  than  100  feet  above  the  ground  the  police  carried  more 
than  100  bodies  from  the  rear  stage  and  balcony  exits  of  the 
Iroquois  theater  to  the  Northwestern  University  building, 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  63 

formerly  the  Tremont  house.  The  planks  rested  on  the  fire 
escape  of  the  theater  and  on  the  ledge  of  a  window  in  the  Tre- 
mont building. 

Two  men  who  first  ventured  on  this  dangerous  passage- 
way in  their  efforts  to  reach  safety,  blinded  by  the  fire  and 
smoke,  lost  their  footing  and  fell  to  the  alley  below.  They 
were  dead  when  picked  up. 

The  bridge  led  directly  into  the  dental  school  of  the  uni- 
versity, and  at  one  time  there  were  more  than  a  score  of 
charred  bodies  lying  under  blankets  in  the  room.  The  dead 
were  carried  from  the  pile  of  bodies  at  the  theater  exits  faster 
than  the  police  could  take  them  away  in  the  ambulances  and 
patrol  wagons. 

As  soon  as  the  police  began  to  take  the  injured  into  the 
university  building  the  classrooms  were  drawn  upon  for  phy- 
sicians, and  in  a  few  minutes  professors  and  dental  students 
gathered  in  the  offices  and  stores  to  lend  their  assistance. 
Wounds  were  dressed,  and  in  cases  of  less  serious  injury  the 
unfortunates  were  sent  to  their  homes.  In  other  cases  they 
were  sent  to  hospitals. 

When  the  smoke  had  cleared  away  the  rescuers  first  real- 
ized the  extent  of  the  horror.  From  the  bridge  could  be  seen 
the  rows  of  balcony  and  gallery  seats,  many  occupied  by  a 
human  form.  Incited  by  the  sight,  the  police  redoubled  their 
efforts,  and  heedless  of  the  dangers  of  the  narrow,  slippery 
bridge,  pressed  close  to  each  other  as  they  worked. 

While  a  dozen  policemen  were  removing  the  dead  from 
the  theater,  twice  as  many  were  engaged  in  carrying  them  to 
the  patrol  wagons  and  ambulances  at  the  doors  of/  the  univer- 
sity building.  All  the  afternoon  the  elevators  carried  down 
police  in  twos  and  fours  carrying  their  burdens  of  dead  in 
blankets.  So  fast  were  they  carried  down  that  many  of  the 


-*•' 

: 


64  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


patrol  wagons  held  five  and  more  bodies  when  they  were 

driven  away. 

- 

CROWDS  OF  ANXIOUS  FRIENDS. 

Behind  the  lines  of  police  that  guarded  the  passage  of  the 
dead,  hundreds  of  anxious  men  and  women  crowded  with 
eager  questions.  The  rotunda  of  the  building  between  3 
and  7  p.  m.  was  thronged  by  those  seeking  knowledge  of 
friend  or  relative  who  had  been  In  the  play.  Some  made 
their  way  to  the  third  floor  and  looked  hopelessly  at  the 
charred  bodies  lying  there.  In  one  corner  lay  the  bodies  of 
husband  and  wife,  clasped  in  each  other's  arms.  From  under 
one  sheltering  blanket  protruded  the  dainty  high  heeled  shoes 
of  some  woman,'  and  from  the  next  blanket  the  rubber  boots 
of  a  newsboy. 

A  Roman  Catholic  priest  made  his  way  into  the  room.  He 
was  looking  for  a  little  girl,  the  daughter  of  a  parishioner. 

"Have  you  the  name  of  Lillian  Doerr  in  your  list?"  he 
asked  James  Markham,  Chief  O'Neill's  secretary,  who  was 
in  charge  of  the  police.  Markham  shook  his  head. 

"She  and  another  little  girl  named  Weiskopp  were  with 
three  other  girls,"  continued  the  priest.  "Three  of  the  girls 
in  the  party  have  got  home,  but  Lillian  and  the  Weiskopp 
girl  are  missing.  I  suppose  we  must  wait  until  all  the  bodies 
are  identified  before  we  can  find  her." 

The  priest's  mission  and  its  futile  results  were  duplicated 
scores  of  times  by  anxious  inquirers. 

BALCONY  AND  GALLERY  CLEARED. 

The  rescue  work  went  on  until  the  balcony  and  gallery  had 
been  cleared  of  the  dead,  and  then  the  police  were  called  away. 
The  exits  were  barred  and  the  hotel  building  cleared  of  visi- 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  65 

tors.  While  the  work  of  rescue  was  going  on  inside  the  build- 
ing, the  streets  about  the  entrances  were  thronged  with  thou- 
sands of  curious  spectators.  As  soon  as  an  ambulance  backed 
up  to  the  entrance  the  crowd  pressed  forward  to  get  a  view 
of  the  bundles  placed  in  the  wagon.  Even  after  this  work 
had  ended  the  crowds  remained  in  the  cold  and  darkness. 

'  Many  of  the  small  shops  and  offices  in  the  University  build- 
ing threw  open  their  doors  to  the  injured  and  those  who  had 
been  separated  from  their  friends.  When  those  who  ha3 
escaped  by  the  alley  exits  reached  Dearborn  street  they  found 
the  doors  of  the  Hail  wood  Cash  Register  offices,  41  Dearborn 
street,  open  to  them.  L.  A.  Weismann,  Harry  Snow,  Harry 
Dewitt,  and  C.  J.  Burnett  of  the  office  force  at  once  prepared 
to  care  for  the  injured.  More  than  fifty  persons  were  cared 
for. 

While  these  men  were  caring  for  strangers  they  themselves 
were  haunted  by  the  dread  that  Manager  H.  Ludwig  of  the 
company  with  his  wife  and  two  daughters  were  among  the 
dead.  The  Ludwig  family  lives  in  Norwood  Park,  and  the 
father  had  left  the  office  with  them  early  in  the  afternoon. 
At  6  o'clock  he  had  not  returned  for  his  overcoat. 

FINANCE  COMMITTEE  OF  CITY  COUNCIL  ACTS 

PROMPTLY. 

"Spare  no  expense,"  was  the  order  given  by  the  finance 
committee  of  the  council  which  was  in  session  when  the  ex- 
tent of  the  disaster  became  known  at  the  city  hall.  First  to 
grasp  the  import  of  the  news  was  Aid.  Raynier,  whose  wife 
and  four  children  had  left  him  at  noon  to  attend  the  matinee. 
With  a  gasp  he  hurried  from  the  room  to  go  to  the  scene. 

"You  are  instructed,"  said  Chairman  Mavor  to  Acting 
Mayor  McGann,  "to  direct  the  fire  marshal,  the  chief  of  po= 


66 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


lice,  and  the  commissioner  of  public  works  to  proceed  in  this 
emergency  without  any  restrictions  as  to  expense.  Do  every- 
thing needful,  spend  all  the  money  needed,  and  look  to  the 
council  for  your  warrant.  We  will  be  your  authority." 

A  telegram  at  once  was  sent  to  Mayor  Harrison  informing 
him  of  the  fire  and  the  executive  returned  from  Oklahoma  on 
the  first  train. 

Acting  Commissioner  of  Public  Works  Brennan  sent  word 
to  Chief  O'Neill  and  Fire  Marshal  Musham  that  the  public 
works  department  was  at  their  service. 

"We  want  men  and  lanterns,"  Chief  Musham  answered. 

Supt.  Solon  was  sent  to  a  store  near  the  theater  with  an 
order  for  as  many  lanterns  as  might  be  needed.  Supt.  Doherty 
assembled  150  men  in  Randolph  street  and  seventy  wagons 
employed  on  First  ward  streets.  They  were  placed  at  the  dis-_ 
posal  of  the  two  chiefs. 

Chief  O'Neill  was  in  the  council  chamber  when  the  news 
arrived,  hearing  charges  against  a  police  officer.  Lieut. 
Beanbien  came  from  his  office  and  whispered  to  him.  The 
chief  hurried  to  the  fire.  The  trial  board  continued  its  work. 

On  the  ground  floor  of  the  city  hall  the  fire  trial  board  was 
in  executive  session  trying  six  firemen  on  a  charge  of  carry- 
ing tales  to  insurance  men  against  the  chief. 

At  3 :33  o'clock  the  alarm  rang.  Chief,  assistant  chiefs, 
and  accused  firemen  listened.  Then  the  news  of  the  magni- 
tude of  the  fire  reached  headquarters.  The  board  hurriedly 
adjourned  and  Chief  Musham  led  accusers  and  accused  to 
fight  the  fire. 


CHAPTER  III. 

X  • 

TAKING  AWAY  AND'  IDENTIFYING  THE  DEAD. 


In  drays  and  delivery  wagons  they  carried  the  dead  away 
from  the  Iroquois  theater  ruins.  The  sidewalk  in  front  of  the 
playhouse  and  Thompson's  restaurant  was  completely  filled 
with  dead  bodies,  when  it  was  realized  that  the  patrol  wagons 
and  ambulances  could  not  remove  the  bodies. 

Then  Chief  O'Neill  and  Coroner  Traeger  sent  out  men  to 
stop  drays  and  press  them  into  service.  Transfer  companies 
were  called  up  on  telephone  and  asked  to  send  wagons.  Retail 
stores  in  State  street  sent  delivery  wagons.  ,- 

Into  these  drays  and  wagons  were  piled  the  bodies.  They  lay 
outstretched  on  the  sidewalk,  covered1  with  blankets.  Much 
care  in  the  handling  was  impossible.  As  soon  as  a  space  on 
the  walk  was  made  by  the  removal  of  a  body  two  were  brought 
down  to  fill  it. 

One  of  the  wagons  of  the  Dixon  Transfer  Company  was  so 
heavily  loaded  with  the  dead  that  the  two  big  horses  drawing 
it  were  unable  to  start  the  truck.  Policemen  and  spectators 
put  their  shoulders  to  the  wheels. 

When  the  drays  were  filled  and  started  there  was  a  struggle 
to  get  them  through  the  crowds,  densely  packed,  even  within 
the  fire  lines  which  the  police  had  established  across  Randolph 
street  at  State  and  Dearborn  streets. 

Policemen  with  clubs  preceded  many  of  the  wagons.     The 


68  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

crowds  through  which  they  forced  their  way  were  composed 
mostly  of  men  who  had  sent  wives  and  children  to  the  theater 
and  had  reason  to  believe  that  one  of  the  drays  might  carry 
members  of  their  own  families. 

Eight  and  ten  wagons  at  a  time,  half  of  them  trucks  and 
delivery  wagons,  were  backed  up  to  the  curb  waiting  for  their 
loads  of  dead. 

Two  policemen  would  seize  a  blanket  at  the  corners  and 
swing  it,  with  its  contents,  up  to  two  other  men  in  the  wagon. 
This  would  be  continued  until  a  wagonload  of  bodies  had  been 
handled.  Then  the  police  forced  a  way  through  the  crowd 
and  another  wagon  took  the  place. 

Occasionally  a  body  would  be  identified,  and  then  efforts 
'  were  made  to  remove  it  direct  to  the  residence.  Coroner  Trae- 
ger  discovered  the  wife  of  Patrick  P.  O'Donnell,  president  of 
the  O'Donnell  &  Duer  Brewing  Company. 

"Telephone  to  some  undertaking  establishment  and  have 
them  take  Mrs.  O'Donnell's  body  home,"  he  ordered  one  of 
his  assistants.  It  was  taken  'to  the  residence,  at  4629  Wood- 
lawn  avenue. 

Friends  of  another  woman  who  were  positive  they  identified 
the  body  among  the  dead  in  Thompson's  were  allowed  by  the 
coroner  to  remove  it  to  Ford's  undertaking  establishment,  in 
Thirty-fifth  street. 

HEARTRENDING   SCENES   WITNESSED  AT   THE 
UNDERTAKING  ESTABLISHMENTS. 

The  bodies  of  the  fire  victims  were  distributed  among  the 
undertaking  rooms  and  morgues  most  convenient.  By  8:30 
o'clock  135  bodies  lay  on  the  floors  in  the  establishment  of  C. 
H.  Jordan,  14-16  East  Madison  street,  and  in  the  temporary 
annex  across  the  alley.  The  first  were  brought  in  ambulances 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  69 

and  in  police  patrol  wagons.  Later  all  sorts  of  conveyances 
were  pressed  into  service,  and  during  more  than  two  hours 
there  was  a  procession  of  two-horse  trucks,  delivery  wagons, 
and  cabs,  all  bringing  dead.  It  soon  became  evident  that  the 
capacity  of  the  place  would  be  exhausted  and  the  men,  who 
sat  drinking  .and  talking  at  the  tables  in  the  big  ante-room  in 
a  saloon  across  the  alley  were  driven  out,  and  this  also  was 
arranged  for  use  as  a  temporary  morgue. 

Two  policemen  were  in  charge  of  each  load  of  the  dead,  and 
as  soon  as  the  first  few  bodies  were  received,  they  began  search- 
ing for  possible  marks  of  identification.  All  jewelry  and  valu- 
ables, as  well  as  letters,  cards,  and  other  papers  were  put  in 
sealed  envelopes,  marked  with  a  number  corresponding  with 
that  on  the  tag  attached  to  the  body.  When  this  work  was 
completed  all  the  envelopes  were  sent  to  police  headquarters, 
and  all  inquirers  after  missing  friends  and  relatives  were  re- 
ferred to  the  city  hall  to  inspect  the  envelopes. 

The  scenes  in  the  two  long  rooms  of  the  morgue  in  the 
saloon  annex  across  the  alley  were  so  overpowering  that  they 
appeared  to  lose  their  effect.  Many  of  the  bodies  last  brought 
from  the  theater  were  sadly  burned  and  disfigured  and  almost 
all  of  the  faces  were  discolored  and  the  clothing  rumpled  and 
wet 

The  condition  of  many  of  the  bodies  evidenced  a  vain  battle 
for  life.  Almost  all  of  them  were  women  or  children,  and 
the  majority  had  been  well  dressed.  Among  them  were  sev- 
eral old  women.  The  men  were  few.  In  many  cases  the 
hands  were  torn,  as  if  violent  efforts  had  been  made  to  wrench 
away  some  obstruction. 

As  quickly  as  the  work  of  searching  the  bodies  was  com- 
pleted, the  attendants  stretched  strips  of  muslin  over  the 
forms,  partly  hiding  the  pitiful  horror  of  the  sight 


70  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

.  Persons  were  slow  in  coming  to  the  undertakers  in  search 
of  friends.  Many  had  their  first  suspicion  of  the  catastrophe 
when  members  of  theater  parties  failed  to  return  at  the  usual 
hour. 

Among  the  first  to  arrive  at  Jordan's  were  George  E.  Mc- 
Caughan,  attorney  for  the  Chicago  &  Rock  Island  railroad, 
6565  Yale  avenue,  who  came  in  search  of  his  daughter,  Helen, 
who  had  attended  a  theater  party  with  other  young  women. 
A  friend  had  been  in  Dearborn  street  when  the  fire  started  and 
soon  after  had  discovered  in  Thompson's  restaurant  the  body 
of  Miss  McCaughan.  He  attached  a  card  bearing  her  name  to 
the  body,  and,  leaving  it  in  the  custody  of  a  physician,  went 
to  the  telephone  to  notify  the  father.  When  he  returned  to  the 
restaurant  the  body  already  had  been  removed  and  the  friend 
and  the  father  searched  last  night  without  finding  it. 

As  it  grew  later  the  crowd  around  the  doors  increased,  but 
almost  every  one  was  turned  away.  It  would  have  been  im- 
possible for  persons  to  have  passed  through  the  long  rooms 
for  the  purpose  of  inspecting  the  bodies,  they  were  so  close 
together.  Women  came  weeping  to  the  doors  of  the  under- 
taking shop  and  beat  upon  the  glass,  only  to  be  referred  to  the 
city  hall  or  told  "to  come  back  in  the  morning." 

Later  it  was  learned  that  physicians  would  be  admitted  for 
the  purpose  of  inspecting  and  identifying  the  dead,  and  many 
persons  came  accompanied  by  their  family  doctors  for  that 
purpose.  Two  women,  who  pressed  by  the  officer  at  the  door, 
sank  half  fainting  into  chairs  in  the  outer  office.  They  were 
looking  for  Miss  Hazel  J.  Brown,  of  94  Thirty-first  street, 
and  Miss  Eloise  G.  Swayze,  of  Fifty-sixth  street  and  Normal 
avenue.  A  single  glance  at  the  long  lines  of  bodies  stretched 
on  the  floor  was  enough  to  satisfy  them.  They  were  told  to 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  71 

return  in  the  morning  or  to  send  their  family  physician  to 
make  the  identification. 

"The  poor  girls  had  come  from  the  convent  to  spend  the 
holiday  vacation,"  sobbed  one  of  the  women. 

During  the  evening  the  telephone  bell  constantly  was  ring- 
ing, and  persons  whose  relatives  had  failed  to  return  on  time 
were  asked  for  information. 

. 

"Have  you  found  a  small  heart-shaped  locket  set  with  a  blue 
stone  ?"  would  come  a  call  over  the  wire,  and  the  answer  would 
be,  "We  can  tell  nothing  about  that  until  morning." 

At  Rolston's  undertaking  rooms  were  182  bodies,  lying  four 
rows  deep  in  the  rear  of  18  Adams  street  and  three  rows  deep 
in  the  rear  of  22  Adams  street. 

On  the  floors,  tagged  with  the  numerals  of  the  coroner's 
scheme  for  identification,  were  bodies  of  men,  women,  and 
children  awaiting  identification.  One  was  that  of  a  little  girl 
with  yellow  hair  in  a  tangle  of  curls  around  her  face.  She 
appeared  as  if  she  slept.  A  silk  dress  of  blue  was  spread 
over  her  and  the  sash  of  white  ribbon  scarcely  was  soiled. 

Over  the  long  lines  of  the  dead  the  police  hovered  in  the 
search  for  identifying  marks  and  for  valuables.  Most  of  the 
bodies  were  partly  covered  with  blankets. 

Outside  a  big  crowd  surged  and  struggled  with  the  police. 
Not  till  10  o'clock  were  the  doors  opened.  Then  Coroner. 
Traeger  arrived,  and  in  groups  of  twelve  or  fifteen  the  crowd 
was  permitted  to  pass  through  the  doors. 

There  was  a  pathetic  scene  at  Rolston's  morgue  when  the 
body  of  John  Van  Ingen,  18  years  old,  of  Kenosha,  Wis.,  was 
identified.  Friends  of  the  Van  Ingen  family  had  spent  the 
entire  evening  searching  at  the  request  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van 
Ingen,  who  were  injured.  At  midnight  four  of  the  Van  Ingen 
children,  who  were  believed  to  have  perished  in  the  fire,  had  not 


72  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

been  accounted  for.  They  were:  Grace,  2  years  old;  Dottie, 
5  years  old;  Mary,  13  years  old;  and  Edward,  20  years  old. 

In  the  undertaking  rooms  of  J.  C.  Gavin,  226  North  Clark 
street,  and  Carroll  Bros.,  203  Wells  street,  forty-five  bodies 
swathed  in  blankets  were  awaiting  identification  at  midnight. 
Of  the  fifty-four  brought  to  these  places  only  nine  had  been 
identified  by  the  hundreds  of  relatives  and  friends  who  filed 
through  the  rooms,  and  in  several  cases  the  recognition  was 
doubtful. 

An  atmosphere  of  awe  appeared  to  pervade  the  places,  and 
no  hysterical  scenes  followed  the  pointing  out  of  the  bodies. 
The  morbid  crowds  usually  attendant  on  a  smaller  calamity 
were  absent,  and  few  except  those  seeking  missing  relatives 
sought  admission.  Only  one  of  the  men,  James  D.  Maloney. 
wept  as  he  stood  over  the  body  of  his  dead  wife. 

"I  can't  go  any  further,"  he  said.  "Her  sister,  Tennie  Pet- 
erson, who  lived  in  Fargo,  N.  D.,  was  with  her,  and  her  body 
probably  is  there,"  motioning  to  the  row  of  blanket-covered 
forms,  "but  I  can't  look.  I  must  go  back  to  the  little  ones 
at  home,  now  motherless." 

In  Inspector  Campbell's  office  at  the  Chicago  avenue  station 
Sergeant  Finn  monotonously  repeated  the  descriptions,  as  th'e 
scores  of  frantic  seekers  filled  and  refilled  the  little  office.  Sev- 
eral times  he  was  interrupted  by  hysterical  shrieks  of  women 
or  the  broken  voices  of  men. 

"Read  it  again,  please,"  would  be  the  call,  and,  as  the  des- 
cription again  was  read  off,  the  number  of  the  body  was  taken 
and  the  relatives  hurried  to  the  undertaking  rooms.  The 
bodies  of  Walter  B.  Zeisler,  12  years  old,  Lee  Haviland  and 
Walter  A.  Austrian  were  partly  identified  from  the  police 
descriptions. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  73 

The  list  of  hospital  patients  also  was  posted  in  the  station 
and  aided  friends  in  the  search  for  injured. 

Sheldon's  undertaking-  rooms  at  230  West  Madison  street 
were  the  scene  of  pathetic  incidents.  Forty-seven  bodies,  some 
of  them  with  the  clothing  entirely  burned  away,  and  with  few 
exceptions  with  features  charred  beyond  recognition,  had  been 
taken  there.  Late  in  the  night  only  four  had  been  identified. 
The  first  body  recognized  was  that  of  Mrs.  Brindsley,  of  909 
Jackson  boulevard,  who  had  attended  the  matinee  with  Miss 
Edna  Torney,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  P.  Torney,  1292 
Adams  street.  Mr.  Torney  could  find  no  trace  of  the  young 

woman.  ' 

•  t 

Of  the  forty-seven  bodies  thirty-six  were  of  matured  women 
and  five  of  men.  There  were  bodies  of  six  children,  three  boys 
and  three  girls. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Bates,  of  3256  South  Park  avenue,  was  searching 
for  the  bodies  of  Myrtle  Shabad  and  Ruth  Elken,  numbered 
among  the  missing. 

There  were  similar  scenes  at  all  of  the  undertaking  rooms  to 
which  bodies  were  taken. 

"When  the  fire  broke  out  I  was  taking  tickets  at  the  door,** 
said  E.  Lovett,  one  of  the  ijshers.  "The  crowd  began  to  move 
toward  the  exits  on  the  ground  floor,  and  I  rushed  to  the  big 
entrance  doors  and  threw  three  of  them  open.  From  there 
I  hurried  to  the  cigar  store  and  called  up  the  police  and  fire 
departments. 

"When  I  returned  I  tried  to  get  more  of  the  doors  open,  but 
was  shoved  aside  and  told  that  I  was  crazy.  The  crowd  acted 
in  a  most  frenzied  manner  and  no  one  could  have  held  them 
in  check.  Conditions  on  the  balconies  must  have  been  appall- 
ing. They  were  well  filled,  but  the  exits,  had  they  been 
opened,  would  have  proved  ample  for  all." 


74  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

Michael  Ohle,  who  was  ushering  on  the  first  balcony,  no- 
ticed the  fire  shortly  after  it  started.  He  hurried  to  the  en- 
trances and  cleared  the  way  for  the  people  to  get  out.  Then, 
he  says,  h.e  started  downstairs  to  find  out  how  serious  the  fire 
was.  Before  he  could  return  the  panic  was  on.  and  he  fled 
to  the  street  for  safety. 

"Mrs.  Phillipson,  Phillipson — is  Mrs.  Phillipson  here?" 
That  cry  sounded  in  drug  stores,  cigar  stores,  and  hotels 
until  three  little  girls,  Adeline,  Frances,  and  Teresa,  had  found 
their  mother,  from  whom  they  were  separated  in  the  panic. 
At  last  at  the  Continental  hotel  the  call  was  weakly  answered 
by  a  woman  who  lay  upon  a  couch,  more  frightened  than  hurt. 
In  another  moment  three  little  girls  were  sobbing  in  their 
mother's  lap. 

FRIENDS    AND    RELATIVES    EAGERLY    SEARCH 
'  FOR  LOVED  ONES  MISSING  AFTER 
THEATER  HOLOCAUST. 

Friends  sought  for  information  of  friends;  husbands  asked 
for  word  of  wives;  fathers  and  mothers  sought  news  of  sons 
and  daughters;  men  and  women  begged  to  be  told  if  there 
was  any  knowledge  of  their  sweethearts;  parents  asked  for 
children;  and  children  fearfully  told  the  names  of  missing 
playmates. 

The  early  hours  of  the  evening  were  marked  by  many  sad 
scenes.  Men  would  rush  to  the  desk  where  the  names  of 
the  missing  were  being  compiled  and  asked  if  anything  had 
been  heard  of  some  member  of  their  families,  then  turn  away 
and  hurry  out,  barely  waiting  to  be  told  that  there  would  be 
no  definite  news  until  nearly  midnight. 

"Just  think!"  said  one  gray  headed  man,  leaning  on  the 
arm  of  a  younger  man  who  was  leading  him  down  the  stairs. 


-•' 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  75 

"I  bought  the  matinee  tickets  for  the  children  as  a  treat,  and 
insisted  that  they  take  their  little  cousin  with  them." 

"Have  you  heard  anything  of  my  daughter?"  asked  a 
woman. 

"What«was  her  name?" 

"Lily.  She  had  seats  in  the  first  balcony  with  some  girl 
friends.  You  would  know  her  by  her  brown  hair.  She  wore 
a  white  silk  shirt  waist  and  a  diamond  ring  I  gave  her  for 
Christmas.  I  went  to  the  theater,  but  I  couldn't  get  near  it, 
and  they  said  they  were  still  carrying  out  bodies." 

"And  her  name?    Who  was  she?" 

"She  was  my  daughter — my  only  one !" 

The  woman  walked  away,  weeping,  without  giving  the 
name,  and  the  only  response  she  would  make  to  questions 
from  those  who  followed  her  was : 

"My  daughter!" 

Two  men,  with  two  little  boys,  came  in.  "Our  wives," 
they  said,  "came  to  the  matinee  with  some  neighbors.  They 
have  not  yet  come  home." 

Before  they  could  give  their  names  a  third  man  ran  up  and 
cried : 

"I  just  got  word  the  folks  have  been  taken  home  in  am- 
bulances. They  are  alive." 

The  men  gave  a  shout  and  were  gone  in  an  instant. 

Men  with  children  in  their  arms  came  to  ask  for  others  of 
the  family  who  had  become  separated  from  them  in  the  panic 
at  the  theater.  Women,  tears  dampening  their  cheeks, 
hushed  the  chatter  of  their  little  ones  while  they  gave  the 
names  of  husbands  and  brothers,  or  told  of  other  children 
who  had  been  lost. 

One  man  yielded  to  his  fears  at  the  last  minute  and  went 


76 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER 


away  without  asking  for  information  or  giving  any  name 
He  said: 

"I  went  to  the  theater  with  my  wife.  We  have  only  been 
married  a  year.  When  the  rush  came  I  was  torn  away  from 
her,  and  the  last  thing  I  remember  is  of  hearing  her  call  my 
name.  Then  I  was  lifted  off  my  feet  and  can  recall  nothing 
more  except  that  I  found  myself  in  the  street.  I  have  been 
to  all  the  hospitals  and  morgues,  and  now  I  am  going  back 
to  the  theater  again." 

So  it  went  until  the  .last  dreaded  news  began  coming  in. 
Identifications  were  being  made  and  hearts  were  being  broken. 
After  that  time  the  inquiries  were  not  for  information;  they 
were  pleas  to  be  told  that  a  mistake  had  been  made  or  that 
one  was  possible. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SCENE  OF  HORROR  AS  VIEWED  FROM  THE 

STAGE. 

All  but  one  of  the  348  members  of  the  "Bluebeard"  company 
escaped,  although  many  had  close  calls  for  their  lives.  Some 
of  the  chorus  girls  displayed  great  coolness  in  the  face  of  grave 
peril.  Eddie  Foy,  who  had  a  thrilling  experience,  said : 

"I  was  up  in  my  dressing  room  preparing  to  come  on  for 
my  turn  in  the  middle  of  the  second  act  when  I  heard  an  un- 
usual commotion  on  the  stage  that  I  knew  could  not  be  caused 
by  anything  that  was  a  part  of  the  show.  I  hurried  out  of 
my  dressing  room,  and  as  I  looked  I  saw  that  the  big  drop 
curtain  was  on  "fire. 

"The  fire  had  caught  from  the  calcium  "and  the  paint  and 
muslin  on  the  drop  caused  the  flames  to  travel  with  great  rap- 
idity. Everything  was  excitement.  Everybody  was  running 
from  the  stage.  My  6  year  old  son,  Bryan,  stood  in  the  first 
entrance  to  the  stage  and  my  first  thought  naturally  was  to 
get  him  out  They  would  not  let  me  go  out  over  the  foot- 
lights, so  I  picked  up  the  boy  and  gave  him  to  a  man  and  told 
him  to  rush  the  boy  out  into  the  alley. 

"I  then  rushed  out  to  the  footlights  and  called  out  to  the 
audience,  'Keep  very  quiet.  It  is  all  right.  Don't  get  ex- 
cited and  don't  stampede.  It  is  all  right/ 

"I  then  shouted  an  order  into  the  flies,  'Drop  the  curtain,' 
and  called  out  to  the  leader  of  the  orchestra  to  'play  an  over 


78  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

ture/  Some  of  the  musicians  had  left,  but  those  that  re* 
mainecl  began  to  play.  The  leader  sat  there,  white  as  a  ghost, 
but  beating  his  baton  in  the  air. 

"As  the  music  started  I  shouted  out  to  the  audience,  'Go 
out  slowly.  Leave  the  theater  slowly.'  The  audience  had 
not  yet  become  panic  stricken,  and  as  I  shouted  to  them  they 
applauded  me.  The  next  minute  the  whole  stage  seemed  to 
be  afire,  and  what  wood  there  was  began  to  crackle  with  a 
sound  like  a  series  of  explosions. 

"When  I  first  came  out  to  the  footlights  about  300  persons 
had  left  the  theater  or  were  leaving  it.  They  were  those  who 
were  nearest  the  door.  Then  the  policemen  came  rushing  in 
and  tried  to  stem  the  tide  towards  the  door. 
•  "All  this  happened  in  fifteen  seconds.  Up  in  the  flies  were 
the  young  women  who  compose  the  aerial  ballet.  They  were 
up  there  waiting  to  do  their  tujrn,  and  as  I  stood  at  the  front 
of  the  stage  they  came  rushing  out.  I  think  they  all  got  out 
safely. 

"The  fire  seemed  to  spread  with  a  series  of  explosions. 
The  paint  on  the  curtains  and  scenery  came  in  touch  with  the 
flames  and  in  a  second  the  scenery  was  sputtering  and  blazing 
up  on  all  sides.  The  smoke  was  fearful  and  it  was  a  pase  of  run 
quickly  or  be  smothered." 

X 

Stage  Director  William  Carleton,  who  was  one  of  the  last 
to  leave  the  stage  when  the  flames  and  smoke  drove  the  memj 
bers  of  the  company  out,  said : 

"I  was  on  the  stage  when  the  flames  shot  out  from  the 
switchboard  on  the  left  side.  It  seemed  that  some  part  of 
the  scenery  must  have  touched  the  sparks  and  set  the  fire. 
Soon  the  octette  which  was  singing  "In  the  Pale  Moonlight," 
discovered  the  fire  over  their  heads  and  in  a  few  moments  we 
had  the  curtain  run  down.  It  would  not  go  down  the  full 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  79 

length,  however,  leaving  an  opening  of  about  five  feet  from 
the  floor.  Then  the  crowd  out  in  front  began  to  stampede 
and  the  lights  went  out.  Eddie  Foy,  who  was  in  his  dress- 
ing room,  heard  the  commotion,  and,  rushing  to  the  front  of 
the  stage,  shouted  to  the  spectators  to  be  calm.  The  warning 
was  useless  and  the  panic  was  under  way  before  any  one  real- 
ized what  was  going  on. 

"Only  sixteen  members  of  the  company  were  on  the  stage 
at  the  time.  They  remained  until  the  flames  were  all  about 
them  and  several  had  their  hair  singed  and  faces  burned.  Al- 
most every  one  of  these  went  out  through  the  stage  entrance 
on  Dearborn  street.  In'  the  meantime  all  of  those  who  were 
in  the  dressing  room  had  been  warned  and  rushed  out  through 
the  front  entrance  on  Randolph  street.  There  was  no  panic 
among  the  members  of  the.  company,  every  tine  seeming  to 
know  that  care  would  result  in  the  saving  of  life.  Most  of 
the  members  were  preparing  for  the  next  number  in  their 
dressing  rooms  when  the  fire  broke  out,  and  they  hurriedly 
secured  what  wraps  they  could  and  all  dashed  up  to  the  stage, 
making  their  exit  in  safety. 

"The  elevator  which  has  been  used  for  the  members  of 
the  company,  in  going  from  the  upper  dressing  rooms  to  the 
stage,  was  one  of  the  first  things  to  go  wrong,  and  attempts 
to  use  it  were  futile. 

"It  seems  that  the  panic  could  not  be  averted,  as  the  great 
crowd  which  filled  the  theater  was  unable  to  control  itself.  Two 
of  the  women  fainted." 

"When  the  fire  broke  out,"  said  Lou  Shean,  a  member  of 
the  chorus,  "I  was  in  the  dressing  room  underneath  the  stage. 
When  I  reached  the  top  of  the  stairs  the  scenery  nearby  was 
all  in  flames  and  the  heat  was  so  fierce  that  I  could  not  reach 
the  stage  door  leading:  toward  Dearborn  street  1  returned 


So  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

to  the  basement  and  ran  down  the  long  corridor  leading  to- 
ward the  engine  room,  near  which  doors  led  to  the  smoking 
room  and  buffet.  Both  doors  were  locked.  I  began  to  break 
down  the  doors,  assisted  by  other  members  of  the  company, 
while  about  seventy  or  eighty  other  members  crowded  against 
us.  I  succeeded  in  bursting  open  the  door  to  the  smoking 
room,  when  all  made  a  wild  rush.  I  was  knocked  down  and 
trampled  on  and  received  painful  bruises  all  over  my  body." 

"I  was  just  straightening  up  things  in  our  dressing  room 
upstairs,"  said  Harry  Meehan,  a  member  of  the  chorus,  who 
also  acted  as  dresser  for  Eddie  Foy  and  Harry  Gil  foil,  "when 
the  fire  started.  Both  Mr.  Foy  and  Mr.  Gilfoil  were  on  the 
stage  at  the  time.  I  opened  Mr.  Foy's  trunk  and  took  out 
his  watch  and  chain  and  rushed  out,  leaving  my  own  clothes 
behind.  I  was  so  scantily  dressed  that  I  had  to  borrow 
clothes  to  get  back  to  the  hotel.  Mr.  Gilfoil  saved  nothing 
but  his  overcoat." 

Herbert  Cawthorn,  the  Irish  comedian  who  took  the  pan 
of  Pat  Shaw  in  the  play  "Bluebeard,"  assisted  many  of  the 
chorus  girls  from  the  stage  exits  in  the  panic. 

"While  the  stage  fireman  was  working  in  an  endeavor  to 
use  the  chemicals  the  flames  suddenly  swooped  down  and  out. 
Eddie  Foy  shouted  something  about  the  asbestos  curtain  and 
the  fireman  attempted  to  use  it,  and  the  stage  hands  ran  to  hj§ 
assistance,  but  the  curtain  refused  to  work. 

"In  my  opinion  the  stage  fireman  might  have  averted  the 
whole  terrible  affair  if  he  had  not  become  so  excited.  The 
chorus  girls  and  everybody,  to  my  mind,  were  less  excited  than 
ne.  There  were  at  least  500  people  behind  the  scenes  when 
the  fire  started,  I  assisted  many  of  the  chorus  girls  from 
the  theater." 

Said  C,  W.  Northrop,  who  took  the  part  of  one  of 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  81 

beard's  old  wives:  "Many  of  us  certainly  had  narrow  escapes. 
Those  who  were  in  the  dressing  rooms  underneath  the  stage 
at  the  tim^  had  more  difficulty  in  getting  out.  I  was  in  the 
dressing  room  under  the  stage  when  the  fire  broke  out,  and 
when  I  found  that  I  could  not  reach  the  stage  I  tried  to  get 
out  through  the  door  connecting  the  extreme  north  end  of 
the  C  shaped  corridor  with  the  smoking  room.  I  joined 
other  members  of  the  company  in  their  rush  for  safety,  but 
when  we  reached  the  door  we  found  it  closed.  Some  of  the 
members  crawled  out  through  a  coal  hole,  while  others  broke 
down  the  locked  door,  through  which  the  cihers  made  their 
way  out." 

Lolla  Quinlan,  one  of  Bluebeard's  eight  dancers,  saved  the 
life  of  one  of  her  companions,  Violet  Sidney,  at  the  peril  of 
her  own.  The  two  girls,  with  five  others,  were  in  a  dressing 
room  on  the  fifth  floor  when  the  alarm  was  raised.  In  their 
haste  Miss  Sidney  caught  her  foot  and  sank  to  the  floor  with 
a  cry  of  pain.  She  had  sprained  her  ankle.  The  others,  with 
the  exception  of  Miss  Quinlan,  fled  down  the  stairs. 

.-Grasping  her  companion  around  the  waist  Miss  Quinlan 
dragged  her  down  the  stairs  to  the  stage  and  crossed  the 
boards  during  a  rain  of  fiery  brands.  These  two  were  the  last 
to  leave  the  stage.  Miss  Quinlan's  right  arm  and  hand  were 
painfully  burned  and  her  face  was  scorched.  Miss  Sidney's 
face  was  slightly  burned.  Both  were  taken  to  the  Continental 
hotel. 

Herbert  Dillon,  musical  director,  at  the  height  of  the  panic 
broke  through  the  stage  door  from  the  orchestra  side,  hastily 
cleared  away  obstructions  with  an  ax,  and  assisted  in  the  escape 
of  about  eighty  chorus  girls  who  occupied  ten  dressing  rooms 
under  the  stage. 

".We  were  getting  ready  for  the  honey  and  fan  scene,"  said 


82  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

Miss  Nina  Wood,  "talking  and  laughing,  and  not  thinking 
of  danger.  We  were  so  far  back  of  the  orchestra  that  we  did 
not  hear  sounds  of  the  panic  for  several  moments.  Then  the 
tramping  of  feet  came  to  our  ears.  We  made  our  way  through 
the  smoking  room  and  one  of  the  narrow  exits  of  the  theater." 

Miss  Adele  Rafter,  a  member  of  the  company,  was  in  her 
dressing  room  when  the  fire  broke  out. 

"I  did  not  wait  an  instant,"  said  Miss  Rafter.  "I  caught 
up  a  muff  and  boa  and  rushed  down  the  stairs  in  my  stage  cos- 
tume and  was  the  first  of  the  company  to  get  out  the  back  en- 
trance. Some  man  kindly  loaned  me  his  overcoat  and  I  hur- 
ried to  my  apartments  at  the  Sherman  house.  Several  of  the 
girls  followed,  and  we  had  a  good  crying  spell  together." 

Miss  Rafter's  mother  called  at  the  hotel  and  spent  the  even- 
ing with  her.  Telegrams  were  sent  to  her  father,  who  is 
rector  of  a  church  at  Dunkirk,  N.  Y. 

Edwin  H.  Price,  manager  of  the  "Mr.  Bluebeard"  com- 
pany, was  not  in  the  building  when  the  fire  started.  He  said : 

"I  stepped  out  of  the  theater  for  a  minute,  and  when  I  got 
back  I  saw  the  people  rushing  out  and  knew  the  stage  was  on 
fire.  I  helped  some  of  the  girls  out  of  the  rear  entrance.  With 
but  one  or  two  exceptions  all  left  in  stage  costume. 

"One  young  woman  in  the  chorus,  Miss  McDonald,  dis- 
played unusual  coolness.  She  remained  in  her  dressing  room 
and  donned  her  entire  street  costume,  and  also  carried  out  as 
much  of  her  stage  clothing  as  she  could  carry." 

Quite  a  number  of  the  chorus  girls  live  in  Chicago,  and  Mr. 
Price  furnished  cabs  and  sent  them  ail  to  their  homes. 

Through  some  mistake  it  was  reported  that  Miss  Anabel 
Whitford,  the  fairy  queen  of  the  company,  was  dying  at  one 
of  the  hospitals.  She  was  not  even  injured,  having  safely 
made  her  way  out  through  the  stage  door 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  83 

Miss  Nellie  Reed,  the  principal  of  the  flying  ballet,  which 
was  in  place  for  its  appearance  near  the  top  part  of  the  stage, 
was  so  badly  burned  by  the  flames  before  she  was  able  to  escape 
that  she  afterward  died  at  the  county  hospital.  The  other 
members  of  the  flying  ballet  were  not  injured. 

Robert  Evans,  one  of  the  principals  of  the  Bluebeard  com- 
pany, was  in  his  dressing  room  on  the  fourth  floor.  He  dived 
through  a  mass  of  flame  and  landed  three  stairways  below. 
He  helped  a  number  of  chorus  girls  to  escape  through  the  low- 
er basement.  His  hands  and  face  are  burned  severely.  He 
lost  all  his  wardrobe  and  personal  effects. 

STORY  OF  HOW  A  SMALL  BLAZE  TERMINATED 
IN  TERRIBLE  LOSS. 

The  fire  started  while  the  double  octet  was  singing  "In 
the  Pale  Moonlight."  Eddie  Foy,  off  the  stage,  was  making 
up  for  his  "elephant"  specialty. 

On  the  audience's  left — the  stage  right — a  line  of  fire 
flashed  straight  up.  It  was  followed  by  a  noise  as  of  an  ex- 
plosion. According  to  nearly  all  accounts,  however,  there 
was  no  real  explosion,  the  sound  being  that  of  the  fuse  of  the 
"spot"  light,  the  light  which  is  turned  on  a  pivot  to  follow 
and  illuminate  the  progress  of  the  star  across  the  stage. 

This  light  caused  the  fire.  On  this  all  reports  of  the  stage 
folk  agree.  As  to  manner,  accounts  differ  widely.  R.  M. 
Cummings,  the  boy  in  charge  of  the  light,  said  that  it  was 
short  circuited. 

Stage  hands,  as  they  fled  from  the  scene,  however,  were 
heard  to  question  one  another,  "Who  kicked  over  the  light?" 
The  light  belonged  to  the  "Bluebeard"  company. 

The  beginning  of  the  disaster  was  leisurely.  The  stage 
hands  had  been  fighting  the  line  of  wavering  flame  along  the 


84  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

i 

muslin  fly  border  for  some  seconds  before  the  audience  knew 
anything  was  the  matter. 

The  fly  border,  made  of  muslin  and  saturated  with  paint, 
was  tinder  to  the  flames. 

The  stage  hands  grasped  the  long  sticks  used  in  their  work. 
They  forgot  the  hand  grenades  that  are  supposed  to  be  on 
every  stage. 

"Hit  it  with  the  sticks !"  was  the  cry.  "Beat  it  out  I"  "Beat 
it  out!" 

The  men  struck  savagely.  A  few  yards  of  the  border  fell 
upon  the  stage  and  was  stamped  to  charred  fragments. 

That  sight  was  the  first  warning  the  audience  had.  For  a 
second  there  was  a  hush.  The  singers  halted  in  their  lines; 
the  musicians  ceased  to  play. 

Then  a  murmur  of  fear  ran  through  the  audience.  There 
were  cries  from  a  few,  followed  by  the  breaking,  rumbling 
sound  of  the  first  step  toward  the  flight  of  panic. 

At  that  moment  a  strange,  grotesque  figure  appeared  upon 
the  stage.  It  wore  tights,  a  loose  upper  garment,  and  the 
face  was  one-half  made  up.  The  man  was  Eddie  Foy,  chief 
comedian  of  the  company,  the  clown,  but  the  only  man  who 
kept  his  head. 

Before  he  reached  the  center  of  the  stage  he  had  called  out 
to  a  stage  hand :     "Take  my  boy,  Bryan,  there  I    Get  him  out ! } 
There  by  the  stage  way!" 

The  stage  hand  grabbed  the  little  chap.  Foy  saw  him  dart 
with  him  to  safety  as  he  turned  his  head. 

Freed  of  parental  anxiety,  he  faced  the  audience, 

"Keep  quiet!"  he  shouted.     "Quiet." 

"Go  out  in  order!"  he  shouted.     "Don't  get  excited!" 

Between  exclamations  he  bent  over  toward  the  orchestra 
leader. 


1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  85 

ORCHESTRA  PLAYS  IN  FACE  OF  DEATH. 

"Start  an  overture!"  he  commanded.  "Start  anything. 
For  God's  sake  play,  play,  play,  and  keep  on  playing-." 

The  brave  words  were  as  bravely  answered.  Gillea  raised* 
his  wand,  and  the  musicians  began  to  play.  Better  than  any 
one  in  the  theater  they  knew  their  peril.  They  could  look 
slantingly  up  and  see  that  the  300  sets  of  the  "Bluebeard" 
scenery  all  were  ablaze.  Their  faces  were  white,  their  hands 
trembled,  but  they  played,  and  played. 

Foy  still  stood  there,  alternately  urging  the  frightened  peo- 
ple to  avoid  a  panic  and  spurring  the ,  orchestra  on.  One  by 
one  the  musicians  dropped  fiddle,  horn,  and  other  instruments 
and  stole  away. 

"CLOWN"  PROVES  A  HERO. 

Finally  the  leader  and  Foy  were  left  alone.  Foy  gave  one 
glance  upward  and  saw  the  scenery  all  aflame.  Dropping 
brands  fell  around  him,  and  then  he  fled — just  in  time  to 
save  his  own  life.  The  "clown"  had  proved  himself  a  hero. 

The  curtain  started  to  come  down.  It  stopped,  it  swayed 
as  from  a  Heavy  wind,  and  then  it  "buckled"  near  the  center. 

ALL  HOPE  LOST  FOR  GALLERY. 

From  that  moment  no  power  short  of  omnipotent  could 
have  saved  the  occupants  of  the  upper  gallery. 

The  coolness  of  Foy,  of  the  orchestra  leader  and  of  other 
players,  who  begged  the  audience  to  hold  itself  in  check,  how- 
ever, probably  saved  many  lives  on  the  parquet  floor.  Tumul- 
tuous panic  prevailed,  but  the  maddest  of  it — save  in  the 
doomed  gallery — was  at  the*  outskirts  of  the  ground  floor 
crowd. 


CHAPTER  V. 


EXCITING  EXPERIENCES  IN  THE  FIRE. 


"If  you  ever  saw  a  field  of  timothy  grass  blown  flat  by  the 
wind  and  rain  of  a  summer  storm,  that  was  the  position  of  the 
dead  at  the  exits  of  the  second  balcony,"  said  Chief  of  Police 
O'Neill. 

"In  the  rush  for  the  stairs  they  had  jammed  in  the  doorway 
and  piled  ten  deep ;  lying  almost  like  shingles.  When  we  got 
up  the  stairs  in  the  dark  to  the  front  rows  of  the  victims,  some 
of  them  were  alive  and  struggling,  but  so  pinned  down  by  the 
great  weight  of  the  dead  and  dying  piled  upon  them  that  three 
strong  men  could  not  pull  the  unfortunate  ones  free. 

"It-  was  necessary  first  to  take  the  dead  from  the  top  of  the 
pile,  then  the  rest  of  the  bodies  were  lifted  easily  and  regularly 
from  their  positions,  save  as  their  arms  had  intertwined  and 
clutched. 

"Nothing  in  my  experience  has  ever  approached  the  awful- 
ness  of  the  situation  and  it  may  be  said  that  from  the  point  of 
physical  exertion,  the  police  denartment  has  never  been  taxed  as 
it  has  been  taxed  tonight.  Men  have  been  worn  out  simply 
with  the  carrying  out  of  dead  bodies,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
awftilness  of  their  burdens." 

The  strong  hand  of  the  chief  was  called  into  play  when  the 
dead  had  been  removed  and  when  the  theater  management 
appeared  at  the  exit  of  the  second  balcony,  seeking  to  pass  the 

86 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  87 

uniformed  police  who  guarded  the  heaps  of  sealskins,  purses, 
and  tangled  valuables  behind  them.  A  spokesman  for  the  man- 
agement, backed  up  by  a  negro  special  policeman  of  the  house, 
stood  before  the  half  dozen  city  police  on  guard,  asking  to  be 
admitted  that  these  valuables  might  be  removed  to  the  check- 
rooms of  the  theater. 

"But  these  things  are  the  property  of  the  coroner,"  replied 
the  chief,  coming  up  behind  the  delegation. 

"But  the  theater  management  wishes  to  make  sure  of  the 
safety  of  these  valuables,"  insisted  the  spokesman. 

"The  department  of  police  is  responsible,"  replied  Chief 
O'Neill. 

. 

EXPERIENCE  OF  CHICAGO  UNIVERSITY  MEN. 

Clyde  A.  Blair,  captain  of  the  University  of  Chicago  track 
team,,  and  Victor  S.  Rice,  615  Yale  avenue,  a  member  of  the 
team,  accompanied  Miss  Majorie  Mason,  5733  Monroe  ave- 
nue, and  Miss  Anne  Hough,  361  East  Fifty-eighth  street,  to 
the  matinee.  They  were  sitting  in  the  middle  of  the  seventh 
row  from  the  rear  of  the  first  floor.  When  the  first  flames  broke 
through  from  the  stage  Miss  Mason  became  alarmed.  Seizing 
the  girl,  and  leaving  his  overcoat  and  hat,  Blair  dragged  her 
through  the  crush  toward  the  doot,  closely  followed  by  Rice 
and  Miss  Hough. 

"The  crush  at  the  door,"  said  Blair,  "was  terrific.  Half  of 
the  double  doors  opening  into  the  ^vestibule  were  fastened. 
People  dashed  against  the  glass,  breaking  it  and  forcing  their 
way  through.  One  woman  fell  down  in  the  crowd  directly 
in  front  of  me.  She  looked  up  and  said,  'For  God's  sake, 
don't  trample  on  me.'  I  stepped  around  her,  unable  to  help 
her  up,  and  the  crowd  forced  me  past.  I  could  not  learn 
whether  she  was  trampled  over  or  not." 


88  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER, 

BISHOP  BRAVES  DANGER  IN  HEROIC  WORK  OF 

RESCUE. 

"I  was  passing  the  theater  when  the  panic  began,"  said 
Bishop  Samuel  Fallows  of  the  St.  Paul's  Reformed  Episcopal 
church.  "I  heard  the  cry  for  volunteers  and  joined  the  men 
who  went  into  the  place  to  carry  out  the  dead  and  injured.  I 
had  no  idea  of  the  extent'Of  the  disaster  until  I  became  actively 
engaged  in  the  work. 

"The  sight  when  I  reached  the  balconies  was  pitiful  be- 
yond description.  It  grew  in  horror  as  I  looked  over  the 
seats.  The  bodies  were  in  piles.  Women  had  their  hands 
over  their  faces  as  if  to  shield  off  a  blow.  Children  lay 
crushed  beneath  their  parents,  as  if  they  had  been  hurled  to 
the  marble  floors. 

"I  saw  the  great  battlefields  of  the  civil  war,  but  they  were 
as  nothing  to  this.  When  we  began  to  take  out  the  bodies  we 
found  that  many  of  the  audience  had  been  unable  to  get  even 
near  the  exits.  Women  were  bent  over  the  seats,  their  fingers 
clinched  on  the  iron  sides  so  strongly  that  they  were  torn  and 
bleeding.  Their  faces  and  clothes  were  burned,  and  they 
mustjiave  suffered  intensely. 

"I  ministered  to  all  I  could  and  some  of  them  seemed  to 
welcome  the  presence  of  a  clergyman  as  it  were  a  gift  from 
God.  There  appeared  to  be  little  system  in  the  work  of 
rescue,  but  that  was  due,  I  believe,  to  the  intense  excitement" 

WOMEN  AND  FOUR  CHILDREN  SUFFER. 

Mrs.  Anna  B.  Milliken,  who  is  staying  at  Thompson's 
hotel,  had  four  children  in  her  charge,  Felix,  Jessie,  Tony, 
and  Jennie  Guerrier,  of  135  North  Sangamon  street,  their 
ages  ranging  from  u  to  17  years.  She  and  her  charges 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER,  89 

were  in  the  balcony,  standing  against  the  wall,  when  the  fire- 
started. 

"Something  told  me  to  be  calm-/'  said  Mrs.  Milliken,  "I 
had  passed  through  one  dreadful  experience  in  the  Chicago 
fire,  and,  though  there  was  a  great  deal  of  confusion,  I  kept 
the  children  together,  telling  them  not  to  be  frightened.  Men 
and  women  hurried  past  me,  shouting  like  wild  beasts,  and 
if  I  had  joined  them  the  children  and  I  would  have  been 
trampled  under  foot.  It  was  minutes  before  I  could  leave  wtih 
the  two  younger  children.  The  two  elder  are  lost.  What 
shall  I  tell  their  folks,"  and  the  poor  woman  began  to  weep. 
Her  face,  as  she  stood  in  the  lobby  of  the  Northwestern  build- 
ing, was  blistered  and  swollen.  The  back  of  her  dress  was 
burned  through. 

"What  are  the  names  of  the  missing  children  ?"  inquired  a 
physician.  "They  are  in  here,"  and  he  led  the  distracted 
woman  into  one  of  the  "first  aid  hospitals."  There  Mrs.  Mil- 
liken  saw  her  two  charges  so  swathed  in  bandages  that  they 
could  not  be  recognized. 

LEARNS  CHILDREN  HAVE  ESCAPED. 

"I'm  looking  for  two  little  girls — Berien  is  the  name," 
shouted  H.  E.  Osborne.  "They  live  in  Aurora." 

"They've  been  here,"  answered  Mr.  Weisman.  "They  are 
all  right  and  have  been  sent  to  their  home  in  Aurora." 

With  a  glad  shout  Osborne  ran  back  to  the  office  of  the 
National  Cash  Register  company,  50  State  street,  to  inform 
Miss  Mary  Stevenson,  whom  the  children  had  been  visiting. 

The  Berien  children  were  among  the  first  to  reach  the  of- 
fices of  the  Hallwood  company  after  the  fire  broke  out.  By 
some  chance  they  had  made  their  way  out  uninjured.  The 
story  of  their  plight  touched  a  stranger,  who  took  them  to  a 


90  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

railway  station  and  bought  them  tickets  to  their  home  in  Au- 
rora.    One  was  about  14  and  the  other  about  9  years  old. 

FINDS  HIS  DAUGHTER. 

One  young  woman,  terrified  but  uninjured,  had  found  hef 
way  to  this  office  and  was  sitting  in  a  frightened  stupor,  when 
an  elderly  man  hurried  in  from  the  street. 

"Have  you  seen — "  he  started  to  ask,  and  then,  catching 
sight  of  the  forlorn  little  figure,  he  stopped.  With  a  glad 
cry,  father  and  daughter  rushed  into  each  other's  arms,  and 
the  father  bore  his  child  away.  Their  names  were  not  learned. 

James  Sullivan  of  Woodstock  was  probably  the  last  man 
who  got  out  of  the  parquet  Wnjurjfed.  With  him  was  George 
Field,  also  of  Woodstock,  and  the  two  fought  their  way  out 
together. 

MR.  FIELD'S  NARRATIVE. 

"We  were  seated  in  the  twelfth  row,"  said  Mr.  Field, 
"when  we  saw  fire  at  the  top  of  the  proscenium  arch.  At  the 
same  time  some  sparks  fell  on  the  stage. 

"Eddie  Foy  came  out  and  told  the  audience  not  to  be  afraid, 
co  avoid  a  panic,  and  there  would  be  no  trouble.  While  he 
was  speaking,  however,  a  burning  brand  fell  alongside  of  him, 
and  then  came  what  looked  like  a  huge  globe  of  fire.  The 
moment  it  struck  the  stage  fire  spread  everywhere. 

"The  panic  started  at  once  and  everybody  rushed  for  the 
doors.  Sullivan  and  I  were  in  the  rear  of  the  fleeing  mass 
and  made  our  way  out  as  best  we  could  without  getting  mixed 
up  in  the  panic.  As  long  as  the  women  and  children  were 
struggling  through  the  straight  aisles  there  was  not  so  much 
trouble  except  that  some  of  the  fugitives  fell  to  the  floor  and 
had  to  be  helped  on  their  feet  again.  At  times  the  women 


1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  ,   91 

and  children  would  be  lying  four  deep  on  the  floor  of  the 
aisles,  and  in  several  instances  we  had  to  set  them  on  their  feet 
before  we  could  go  further.  There  was  not  much  smoke  and 
had  the  aisles  been  straight  to  the  entrances  every  one  could 
have  got  out  practically  unhurt. 

"But  when  it  came  to  the  turns  where  they  focus  into  the 
lobby  the  poor  women  and  children  were  piled  up  into  indis- 
criminate heaps.  The  screams  and  cries  they  uttered  were 
something  terrible.  It  was  an  impossibility  to  allay  the  panic 
and  the  frightened  people  simply  trampled  on  those  in  front 
of  them. 

"Some  of  the  people  in  the  orchestra  chairs  immediately  in 
front  of  the  stage  must  have  been  burned  by  the  fire.  The  fire 
darted  directly  among  them  and  the  chairs  began  burning  at 
once.  Those  on  this  floor  far  enough  in  the  rear  to  escape 
these  flames  would  have  been  all  right  except  for  the  crush 
of  the  panic. 

"Sullivan,  who  was  with  me,  was  the  last  man  out  of  the 
orchestra  chairs  who  wa»  not  injured.  Whoever  was  behind 
us  must  have  been  suffocated  or  burned  to  death.  How  many 
there  were  I  have  no  means  of  knowing." 

NARROW  ESCAPES  OF  YOUNG  AND  OLD. 

One  of  the  narrow  escapes  in  the  first  rush  for  the  open 
air  was  that  of  Winnie  Gallagher,  1 1  years  old,  4925  Michi- 
gan avenue.  The  child,  who  was  with  her  mother  in  the 
third  row,  was  left  behind  in  the  rush  for  safety.  She  climbed 
to  the  top  of  the  seat  and,  stepping  from  one  chair  to  another, 
finally  reached  the  door.  There  she  was  nearly  crushed  in 
the  crowd.  At  the  Central  police  station  the  child  was  re- 
stored to  her  mother. 

Miss  Lila  Hazel  Coulter,  of  4760  Champlain  avenue,  was 


92  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

sitting  with  Mr.  Kenneth  Collins  and  Miss  Helen  Dickinson, 
3637  Michigan  avenue,  in  the  eighth  row  in  the  parquet 
She  escaped  in  safety. 

"I  was  sitting  in  the  fifth  seat  from  the  aisle,"  said  Miss 
Coulter,  "but  the  fire,  which  was  bursting  out  from  both  sides 
of  the  stage,  had  such  a  fascination  for  me." 

D.  W.  Dimmick,  of  Apple  River,  111.,  an  old  man  of  70, 
with  a  long,  white  beard,  was  standing  in  the  upper  gallery 
when  the  fire  broke  out. 

"I  was  with  a  party  of  fouf,"  said  Mr.  Dimmick.  "I  saw 
small  pieces  of  what  looked  like  burning  paper  dropping  down 
from  above  at  the  left  of  the  curtain.  At  the  same  time  small 
puffs  of  smoke  seemed  to  shoot  out  into  the  house.  A  boy  in 
the  gallery  near  me  called  'fire/  but  there  were  plenty  of 
people  to  stop  him. 

"  'Keep  quiet  1'  I  told  him.  'If  you  don't  look  out,  you'll' 
start  a  panic.' 

"Then  all  of  a  sudden  the  whole  front  of  the  stage  seemed 
to  burst  out  in  one  mass  of  flame.  Then  everybody  seemed 
to  get  up  and  start  to  get  out  of  the  place  at  once.  From  all 
over  the  house  came  shrieks  and  cries  of  'fire/  I  started  at 
once,  hugging  the  wall  on  the  outside  of  the  stairway  as  we 
went  down. 

"When  we  got  down  to  the  platform  where  the  first  bal- 
cony opens  it  seemed  to  me  that  people  were  stacked  up  like 
cordwood.  There  were  men,  women,  and  children  in  the  lot. 
At  the  same  time  there  were  some  people  whom  I  thought 
must  be  actors,  who  came  running  out  from  somewhere  in 
the  interior  of  the  house,  and  whose  wigs  and  clothes  were  on 
fire.  We  tried  to  beat  out  the  flames  as  we  went  along.  By 
crowding  out  to  the  wall  we  managed  to  squeeze  past  the 
mass  of  people  who  were  writhing  on  the  floor,  and  practical-  * 


1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  93 

iy  blocking  the  entrance  so  far  as  the  people  still  in  the  gallery 
were  concerned. 

PULLS  WOMEN  FROM  MASS  ON  FLOOR. 

"As  we  got  by  the  mass  on  the  floor  I  turned  and  caught 
hold  of  the  arms  of  a  woman  who  was  lying  near  the  bottom 
pinned  down  by  the  weight  resting  on  her  feet.  I  managed 
to  pull  her  out,  and  I  think  she  got  down  in  safety.  One  of 
the  men  with  me  also  pulled  out  another  woman  from  the 
heap.  I  tried  to  rescue  a  man  who  was  also  caught  by  the 
feet,  but,  although  1  braced  myself  against  the  stairs,  I  was 
unable  to  move  him. 

"I  came  in  from  Apple  River  to  see  the  sights  in  Chicago, 
and  1  have  seen  all  I  can  stand." 

Six  little  girls  from  Evanston,  in  a  party  occupying  seats 
in  the  parquet,  escaped  by  the  side  entrance.  In  the  crush 
they  lost  most  of  their  clothing.  Four  of  the  children  stayed 
together,  the  other  two  being  for  the  time  lost  in  the  street. 
The  four  were  Hannah  Gregg,  12  years  old,  1038  Sheridan 
road;  Florence  and  May  Lang,  14  and  13  years  old,  Buena 
Park;  Beatrice  Moore,  12  years  old,  Buena  Park. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HEROES  OF  THE  FIRE. 

One  of  the  heroes  of  the  Iroquois  theater  fire  was  Peter 
Quinn,  chief  special  agent  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa 
Fe  railroad  system,  who  assisted  in  saving  the  lives  of  100  or 
more  of  the  performers.  But  for  the  prompt  service  of  Quinn 
and  two  citizens  who  assisted  him  it  is  believed  that  most  of 
the  performers  would  have  met  the  fate  of  the  victims  ?n 
the  theater  proper. 

Mr.  Quinn  had  attended  a  trial  in  the  Criminal  court  and 
in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  started  for  the  downtown  dis- 
trict, intending  to  proceed  to  his  office.  Reaching  Randolph 
and  Dearborn  streets  the  railroad  official  had  his  attention  at- 
tracted to  a  man  who  rushed  from  the  theater  bare-headed 
and  without  his  coat.  What  followed  Quinn  describes  aa 
follows : 

"The  actions  of  the  man  and  the  fact  that  he  was  without 
coat  and  hat  attracted  my  attention  and  I  watched  him 
through  curiosity.  He  ran  so  swiftly  that  he  collided  with 
several  pedestrians,  and  I  saw  him  rush  toward  a  policeman 
on  the  street  crossing.  He  said  something  to  the  policeman 
and  then  I  saw  the  bluecoat  rush  excitedly  away.  My  curi- 
osity was  then  aroused  to  such  an  extent  that  I  followed  the 
young  man  who  ran  into  the  alley  in  the  rear  of  the  theater. 
He  disappeared  there  and  I  was  about  to  go  on  my  way  when 
my  attention  was  attracted  to  the  door  leading  upon  the 
stage. 

"As  I  passed  I  heard  a  commotion  and  saw  the  door  was 

M 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  95 

slightly  open,  and,  peeping  into  the  opening,  I  asked  what 
was  the  trouble.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  I  learned  that  the 
theater  was  on  fire.  A  number  of  strangers  arrived  at  the 
door  about  the  same  time. 

"The  players,  men,  women,  and  children,  had  rushed  to  this 
small  trap-door  for  escape,  got  caught  in  a  solid  mass,  and 
were  so  firmly  wedged  together  that  they  could  not  move. 
They  were  banked  solidly  against  the  little  door,  and  it  could 
not  be  opened.  Nearly  all  of  the  players  were  in  their  stage 
costumes. 

"The  women  screamed  and  begged  us  to  rescue  them,  and 
the  cries  of  the  children  could  be  heard  above  the  hoarse 
shouts  of  the  men.  I  did  not  realize  it  at  that  moment,  but 
it  develops  that  the  players  were  in  the  same  position  as  the 
unfortunates  who  met  death  in  the  front  end  of  the  house. 

"Had  we  been  unable  to  get  that  trap-door  open  when  we 
did  every  member  of  that  struggling  crowd  of  men,  women 
and  children,  would  have  perished  where  they  stood,  too 
tightly  wedged  together  to  permit  even  a  slight  struggle 
against  death. 

"Nobody  at  that  time  had  the  slightest  idea  of  the  serious 
state  of  affairs.  We  tried  to  force  the  door  open,  but  the 
crowd  was  banked  up  too  tightly  against  it.  I  shouted 
through  the  opening  and  commanded  those  in  the  rear  to  step 
back  far  enough  to  permit  the  door  to  be  opened.  It  was  like 
talking  to  empty  space,  however,  and  for  a  few  moments  we, 
stood  there  helpless  and  without  any  means  to  assist  those 
in  distress. 

"Then  came  a  volume  of  smoke,  and  far  in  the  rear  of  the 
crowd  we  could  see  the  illumination  from  the  flames.  I  had 
a  number  of  small  tools  in  my  pocket,  and  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  remove  the  metal  attachments  which  held  the  door 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


in  place.  This  was  accomplished  with  some  difficulty,  and 
then  we  managed  to  force  the  crowd  back  probably  an  inch, 
but  that  was  sufficient.  The  door  was  then  permitted  to  drop 
from  its  place,  and  one  by  one  the  imprisoned  players  were 
assisted  into  the  alley. 

"They  were  then  in  scanty  costumes,  but  were  quickly  as- 
sisted to  places  of  shelter.  Even  when  the  last  player  and 
stage  hand  had  reached  the  alley  we  could  not  realize  the 
awfulness  of  what  had  happened.  I  walked  in  upon  the  stage 
and  found  it  a  seething  furnace.  The  players  had  been  res- 
cued just  in  time.  A  minute  later  and  the  flames  and  smoke 
would  have  reached  the  imperiled  ones,  and  they  would  have 

been  suffocated  or  burned  where  they  stood." 

•   • 

THE  PILES  OF  DEAD  IN  THE  GALLERY. 

William  ("Smiling")  Corbett  was  one  of  the  first  to  pene- 
trate the  smoke  and  reach  the  balcony  and  gallery  of  the 
theater  where  the  most  fearful  loss  of  life  occurred.  Charley 
Dexter,  the  Boston  National  league  player,  and  Frank  House- 
man, the  old  Chicago  second  baseman,  went  to  his  assistance, 

Corbett  was  stopped  by  a  fear-frenzied  little  woman,  who 
begged  him  to  save  her  two  children. 

"They're  up  in  the  gallery,"  she  cried. 

Corbett  made  a  dash  for  the  balcony  entrance  on  the  right. 

"Don't  go  up  there,"  admonished  some  of  the  firemen 
about;  "you'll  get  hemmed  in." 

Corbett  groped  his  way  onward  and  upward,  stumbling  over 
bodies  lying  prostrate  on  the  staircase,  and  finally  reached  the 
gallery  entrance. 

"There  they  were,"  said  Corbett  afterward.  "Positively 
the  most  sickening  spectacle  I  ever  saw.  They  were  piled 
up  in  bunches,  in  all  manner  of  disarray.  I  grabbed  for  the 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  97 

topmost  body,  a  girl  about  6  years  old.  Catching  her  by  the 
wrist  I  felt  the  flesh  curl  up  under  my  grasp.  I  hurried  down 
with  the  little  one,  then  back  again,  each  time  with  the  body 
of  a  child. 

"I  then  realized  that  no  good  could  come  of  any  further 
effort.  Everybody  was  stark  dead.  I  turned  away  and  fled. 
I  never  again  want  to  go  near  the  place." 

EDDIE  FOY'S  HEROISM. 

Eddie  Foy,  leading  comedian  in  "Mr.  Bluebeard,"  said : 

"I  was  in  my  dressing  room,  one  tier  up  off  the  stage,  when 
I  smelled  smoke.  The  'Moonlight  ballet'  was  on,  and  it  was 
three  minutes  before  the  time  for  my  entrance  on  the  first 
scene  of  the  second  act. 

"I  looked  up  and  immediately  over  me,  in  the  left  first  en- 
trance, I  saw  sparks  and  a  small  cloud  of  smoke*  The  mem- 
bers of  the  company  and  of  the  chorus  had  already  started 
off  the  stage.  My  eldest  boy,  Bryan,  was  standing  under 
the  light  bridge  in  the  first  entrance,  and,  taking  him  by  the 
hand,  I  turned  him  over  to  one  of  the  stage  hands  with  orders 
to  get  him  out  of  the  theater.  In  less  time  than  it  takes  to 
tell  it,  the  little  wreath  of  smoke  and  the  tiny  sparks  had  grown 
in  volume.  The  smoke  and  some  of  the  sparks  had  already 
made  their  way  into  the  main  part  of  the  house,  curling  down, 
and  around  the  lower  edge  of  the  proscenium  arch. 

"I  looked  at  the  house  through  an  opening,  and  that  was 
enough.  I  tried  to  appear  as  calm  as  possible  under  the  con- 
ditions, realizing  what  a  stampede  would  mean.  Just  what 
I  said  I  cannot  for  the  life  of  me  now  recall.  In  effect,  though, 
this  is  about  it: 

"  'Ladies  and  gentlemen,  there  is  no  danger.  Don't  get 
excited.  Walk  out  calmly.' 


98  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

"Between  each  breath,  and  these  were  coming  in  short, 
sharp  gasps,  I  kept  yelling  out  from  the  corner  of  my  lips: 
'Lower  that  iron  curtain;  drop  the  fire  curtain!' 

"The  balcony  and  gallery  were  packed  with  women  and 
children,  and  fully  aware  of  what  was  in  store  for  these  hap- 
less ones,  my  heart  sank. 

"The  cracking  of  the  timbers  above  increased.  The  smoke 
was  growing  more  dense.  I  knew  the  material  aloft — flimsy, 
dry  linens,  parched  canvas,  and  paint-coated  tapestries  and 
drops. 

"Without  raising  my  voice  to  a  pitch  calculated  to  alarm, 
and  yet  unmistakably  urgent  in  its  appeal,  I  repeated:  'Get 
out — get  out  slowly.' 

"The  northeast  corner  of  the  fly  gallery  was  now  a  furnace. 
Just  as  I  made  the  last  appeal  to  the  balcony  and  the  gallery 
a  fiercely  blazing  ember  dropped  at  my  feet.  Another,  a 
smaller  one,  was  caught  in  the  draft  and  forced  out  into  the 
theater  proper. 

"  'Drop  the  fire  curtain/  I  shouted  again,  looking  in  vain  for 
it  to  come  down.  •  I  know  that  not  a  soul  in  the  theater  proper 
would  be  in  danger  if  this  was  done.  The  switchboard  was 
there — but  no  one  to  work  it.  I  cried  out  for  Carleton,  our 
stage  manager.  He  was  gone.  I  called  for  'Pete/  one  of 
the  electricians.  He,  too,  was  gone. 

"'Does  any  one  know  how  this  iron  curtain  is  worked?' 
I  yelled  at  the  mob  of  fleeing  stage  hands,  members  of  the 
company,  property  men,  and  musicians.  Not  an  answer. 

"At  the  first  sign  of  danger,  after  reaching  the  footlights, 
I  said  to  Dillea,  our  orchestra  leader : 

"  'An  overture,  Herbert,  an  overture.' 

"Dillea — God  bless  him,  his  ranks  already  thinning  out  in 
the  orchestra  pit — struck  up  the  'Sleeping  Beauty  and  the 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  99 

Beast'  overture.  Of  the  thirty  odd  musicians  in  the  pit  not 
over  half  a  dozen  remained  to  follow  Dillea  and  his  baton. 
But  the  little  fellow,  ashen  pale,  his  eyes  glued  on  the  raging 
mass  of  flame  above,  never  whimpered.  He  kept  right  on, 
and  only  left  his  post  when  the  flames  drove  him  away  from 
his  leader's  stand.  When  Dillea  disappeared  down  the  open- 
ing in  the  orchestra  pit  half  of  the  lower  floor  had  been  emp- 
tied. This  I  noticed  only  in  an  aside,  for  my  eyes  were  fast- 
ened on  the  sea  of  agonized,  distracted  little  ones  in  the  bal- 
cony and  gallery." 

AN  ELEVATOR  BOY  HERO. 

The  bottom  of  the  elevator  shaft  in  the  doomed  theater  was 
a  scene  of  pandemonium  when  the  stage  hands  tried  to  get 
the  girls  out.  Archie  Barnard  headed  the  chain  gang  and 
behind  him  were  J.  R.  O'Mally,  Arthur  Hart  and  William 
Price.  As  soon  as  the  women  reached  the  floor  they  began 
to  run  wild,  and  had  to  be  caught  and  tossed  from  one  man 
to  another.  The  women  in  the  first  tier  of  dressing  rooms 
were  the  first  down  and  they  were  helped  out  without  much 
trouble. 

On  his  second  trip  up  with  the  elevator  young  Robert 
Smith  ascended  into  an  atmosphere  that  was  so  thick  with 
smoke  that  he  could  not  see  or  breathe.  He  found  one  of 
the  girls  on  the  sixth  floor  and  then  took  on  another  load 
from  the  fifth.  By  the  time  he  had  come  down  with  these, 
the  flames  and  smoke  were  threatening  the  men  in  the  chain. 
The  clothing  of  Barnard  and  William  Price  was  on  fire  and 
their  hair  was  burning.  Nevertheless  they  threw  the  girls  out 
and  waited  for  the  third  load. 

This  load  came  near  not  arriving.  The  smoke  was  so  thick 
that  Smith  had  to  find  the  girls  and  drag  them  into  the  ele- 


ioo  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

vator  and  by  the  time  he  had  done  this  he  was  almost  ovtr- 
come.  The  elevator  was  burning  at  the  place  where  the  con- 
troller was  located,  and  Smith  had  to  place  his  left  hand  in 
the  flame  to  start  the  car.  The  hand  was  badly  burned,  but 
the  car  was  started  and  came  down  in  time  for  the  girls  to 
receive  assistance  from  the  men  who  were  waiting.  When 
the  last  girl  was  out  the  men  left  the  building. 

Up  in  the  gridiron,  where  the  smoke  was  thickest,  the  four 
German  boys  who  worked  the  aerial  apparatus  were  caught, 
fully  sixty  feet  from  the  stage  floor,  and  no  one  had  time  to 
come  to  their  assistance  or  to  pay  any  attention  to  them,  be- 
cause there  were  too  many  other  people  to  be  saved. 

At  first,  they  did  not  know  what  to  do.  As  the  smoke  be- 
came thicker  and  the  heat  more  intense  they  moved  to  get 
out.  One  of  them,  who  was  some  distance  from  his  com- 
panions, was  caught  in  the  flames  of  one  of  the  burning  pieces 
of  draperies,  and  either  because  he  lost  his  presence  of  mind 
or  because  he  could  not  hold  out  any  longer,  he  jumped.  Some 
of  the  people  on  the  stage  floor  heard  him  fall,  but  he  did  not 
move  and  no  one  could  help  him.  He  could  not  be  found  after 
the  other  people  escaped  from  the  stage.  His  three  companions 
climbed  over  the  gridiron  scaffolding  and  made  their  way  down 
the  stairway  to  safety. 

"I  heard  the  little  fellow  fall,"  said  Arthur  Hart,  "and  that 
is  the  last  I  knew  of  him.  It  was  a  long  jump,  and  I  presume 
that  he  was  badly  injured." 

"I  stuck  to  the  car  until  the  ropes  parted,"  said  young 
Smith,  the  elevator  boy,  "and  then  I  began  to  get  faint.  Some- 
one reached  in  and  pulled  me  out  just  in  time  to  save  my  life. 
The  larger  part  of  the  girls  were  in  the  dressing  rooms  when 
the  fire  broke  out,  and  they  all  tried  to  get  out  at  once.  A 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  101 

great  many  tried  to  crowd  into  the  elevator  and  it  was  hard 
work  to  keep  it  going.    I  made  as  many  trips  as  I  could." 

u> 

TWO  BALCONY  HEROES. 

A  man  who  gave  his  name  as  Chester,  with  his  wife  and 
two  daughters,  was  a  hero  who  escaped  without  letting  the 
police  know  who  he  was.  This  man  was  in  the  lower  balcony 
of  the  theater  and  in  the  panic  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
fire  escape  with  his  children  and  wife.  After  getting  on  the 
fire  escape,  the  flames  swept  up  and  set  the  clothing  of  his  wife 
and  girls  on  fire.  Burned  himself,  he  fought  the  flame  and 
then  realizing  that  delay  meant  certain  death  he  dropped  the 
children  to  the  ground,  a  distance  of  ten  feet,  and  then  dropped 
his  wife.  Then  he  leaped  himself. 

W.  G.  Smith  of  the  Chicago  Teaming  Company,  37  Dear- 
born street,  saw  them  jumping  and  with  some  of  his  men  he 
picked  them  up  and  carried  them  into  his  store.  This  was 
before  the  fire  department  arrived. 

When  all  had  been  taken  in  Smith  rushed  back  into  the 
alley  to  find  the  lower  fire  escape  filled  with  screaming,  strug- 
gling women.  All  were  hatless  and  their  faces  were  scorched 
by  the  intense  heat.  He  shouted  to  them  to  wait  a  moment,  as 
the  firemen  were  coming,  but  one  woman  leaped  as  he  spoke. 
She  too  was  taken  into  Smith's  store  and  all  his  patients  were 
taken  later  to  nearby  hotels,  where  their  injuries  were 
attended  to. 

After  Smith  left  the  alley  Morris  Eckstrom,  assistant 
engineer,  and  M.  J.  Tierney,  engineer  of  the  university  build- 
ing, ran  to  the  rescue  of  the  women  on  the  fire  escape.  The 
firemen  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  the  screams  of  the  women 
with  the  flames  creeping  upon  them  were  frightful  to  hear. 


102  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

"Jump  one  by  one,"  shouted  Eckstrom,  "and  we'll  catch 
you." 

Tierney  grabbed  a  long  blanket  from  the  engine  room,  and 
the  women,  realizing  it  was  their  only  chance,  leaped  into  it. 
In  some  cases  they  were  injured,  but  none  was  seriously  hurt. 

"I  know  we  caught  twenty  women  that  way,  before  the 
flames  got  so  terrific  that  none  of  them  could  reach  the  fire 
escape,"  said  Eckstrom.  "I  saw  a  dozen  women  and  chil- 
dren and  some  men,  through  the  open  door  to  the  fire  escape, 
fall  back  into  the  flames." 

THE  MUSICAL  DIRECTOR'S  STORY. 

Musical  Director  Herbert  Dillea  of  the  "Mr.  Bluebeard" 
company,  who  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  members  of  the  or- 
chestra to  see  the  fire,  had  several  narrow  escapes  from  death 
while  he  endeavored  to  rescue  four  of  the  chorus  girls  who  had 
fainted  in  the  passageway  which  leads  from  the  armor-room 
to  the  front  smoking  apartment. 

Dillea  was  nearly  overcome  by  the  thick  smoke  which  filled 
the  areaway,  but,  with  the  assistance  of  some  of  the  stage  em- 
ployes, he  succeeded  in  carrying  the  unconscious  actresses 
to  the  street.  The  young  women,  upon  reaching  the  fresh 
air,  soon  revived,  and  they  were  taken  care  of  in  stores  until 
(hey  got  their  street  clothing. 

Dillea  said  that  several  other  members  of  the  orchestra 
vainly  endeavored  to  persuade  some  of  the  audience  who  were 
occupying  front  seats  to  enter  the  passageway,  but  no  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  them. 

In  describing  his  experiences  Dillea  said: 

"It  was  during  the  second  verse  of  the  Tale  Moonlight* 
song  that  I  suddenly  saw  a  red  light  to  my  left  in  the  pros- 
cenium arch.  The  moment  I  saw  the  red  glare  I  knew  there 


i 
IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  103 

was  a  fire,  and  in  whispers  I  ordered  the  other  members  of  the 
orchestra  to  play  as  fast  as  they  could,  as  I  thought  the  as- 
bestos would  be  lowered.  We  had  hardly  begun  to  play  when 
the  asbestos  started  to  come  down,  but  right  in  the  middle  it 
stopped,  and  it  remained  so. 

"By  this  time  the  chorus  girls  were  shrieking  with  terror, 
as  the  fire  brands  were  falling  among  them  on  the  stage.  As 
soon  as  the  audience  saw  the  fire  brands  they  began  to  arise, 
but  Eddie  Foy  ran  out  and  begged  them  to  remain  quiet,  as- 
suring them  that  there  was  no  danger.  The  audience  paid 
no  attention  to  him  and  the  panic  followed.  Then  I  thought 
it  was  time  to  make  our  escape,  and  I  turned  to  the  orchestra 
men  and  told  them  to  follow  me  to  the  passageway.  While 
I  was  running  through  the  areaway  I  shouted  to  the  actresses. 
They  ran  from  their  rooms,  and  four  of  them  fainted.  It  was 
only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  they  were  carried  out." 

CHILD  SAVES  HIS  BROTHER. 

Willie  Dee,  the  12-year-old  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  E. 
Dee,  who  lost  two  children  in  the  fire,  by  a  presence  of  mind 
and  bravery  that  would  have  been  commendable  in  a  person 
of  mature  years  saved  himself  and  a  smaller  brother  not  7 
years  old. 

The  four  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dee  attended  the  the- 
ater on  the  fatal  afternoon  in  company  with  their  nurse,  Mrs. 
G.  H.  Errett.  Besides  Willie,  the  oldest  of  the  children,  there 
were  two  twin  boys,  Allerton  and  Edward,  between  6  and  7 
years  of  age,  and  the  baby  2^  years  old.  Willie  was  one  of 
the  first  to  notice  the  fire  and  called  to  the  nurse  to  go  out. 
The  nurse  did  not  grasp  the  situation,  thinking  the  flames  a 
part  of  the  act,  and  hesitated.  Noticing  her  hesitation,  Willie 
seized  the  nearest  one  of  the  children,  Allerton  and  pulled  the 


104  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

smaller  boy  with  him  down  the  stairs  from  the  fifrst  balcony 
in  which  the  party  was  seated.  The  two  boys  were  unable  to 
niove  fast  enough  to  keep  ahead  of  the  crowd,  although  they 
were  the  first  ones  out.  They  were  overtaken  and  both  of 
them  shoved  through  the  doors  in  front,  where  they  became 
separated.  Willie  thought  his  little  brother  lost  and  went 
home  without  him.  The  smaller  boy  was  later  picked  up  and 
taken  into  Thompson's  restaurant,  from  which  place  he  was 
taken  home,  practically  uninjured. 

The  other  twin,  Edward,  was  killed  where  he  sat.  The 
nurse  and  baby  succeeded  in  reaching  the  first  landing,  where 
they  were  trampled  underfoot.  A  fireman  took  the  baby  from 
the  nurse's  arms  and  placed  it  in  charge  of  Dr.  Bridge.  The 
doctor  succeeded  in  resuscitating  it  and  took  it  to  his  home  at 
Forty-ninth  street  and  Cottage  Grove  avenue,  where  it  died 
early  the  following  morning. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  FIRE— THE  ASBESTOS  CUR- 
TAIN AND  THE  LIGHTS. 

The  real  story  of  the  origin  of  the  fire  was  tola  by  Wil- 
liam McMullen,  assistant  electrician.  He  said:  "The  spot 
light  was  completely  extinguished  at  the  time  of  the  fire.  I 
am  positive  of  this,  because  I  was  working  on  it.  Three  feet 
above  my  head  was  the  flood  light.  I  noticed  the  curtain 
swaying  directly  above  it  and  suddenly  a  spark  shot  up  and 
it  was  ablaze  in  a  second." 

McMullen  called  the  attention  of  his  assistant  to  the  flame. 

"Put  the  fire  out,"  he  said. 

"All  right,"  said  the  other  man,  reaching  down,  using  his 
hands  to  put  out  the  small  flame. 

"Put  it  out!     Put  it  out!"  shouted  McMullen. 

"I  am !  I  am !"  said  the  other,  clapping  the  flimsy  stuff  be- 
tween his  hands. 

Some  of  the  stage  hands  at  this  moment  noticed  the  fire. 

"Look  at  that  fire!"  these  called  out.  "Can't  you  see  that 
you're  on  fire  up  there !  Put  it  out !" 

"D it,  I  am  trying  to,"  said  the  man  who  was  clapping 

away  at  the  burning  paint  impregnated  muslin. 

Then  a  flame  a  foot  high  shot  up  and  caught  the  draperies 
above  those  on  fire. 

"Look  at  that  other  one.  It's  on  fire,"  some  one  on  the 
stage  yelled. 

"Put  it  out !"  shouted  another. 

"All  right,"  said  the  man  on  the  perch.     But  he  did  not 

105 


io6      S     IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


clap  hard  enough  or  fast  enough,  and  in  ten  seconds  the  flames 
were  beyond  his  reach. 

It  was  after  these  hand  clapping  attempts  to  extinguish  the 
fire  had  proved  futile  that  McMullen  shouted  a  call  for  the 
asbestos  curtain  to  be  put  down. 

"I  did  not  see  the  curtain  move." 

ANOTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  FIRE'S  ORIGIN. 

W.  H.  Aldridge,  who  was  employed  to  operate  one  of  the 
so-called  calcium  lights,  told  how  the  fire  started. 

"I  w.as  about  twenty  feet  above  the  lights  which  were  be- 
ing used,  having  left  my  place  to  watch  the  performance,"  he 
said.  "While  I  was  looking  down  on  the  performers  I  no- 
ticed a  flash  of  light  where  the  electric  wires  connect  with  the 
calcium  light.  The  flash  seemed  to  be  about  six  inches  long. 
As  I  looked  a  curtain  swayed  against  the  flame.  In  a  moment 
the  loose  edges  of  the  canvas  were  in  a  blaze,  which  rapidly 
ran  up  the  edge  of  the  canvas  and  across  its  upper  end. 

"A  man  named  McNulty  was  in  charge  of  the  light.  Wheth- 
er he  accidentally  broke  the  wire  and  caused  the  flash  I  do 
not  know.  The  light  was  about  twenty  feet  from  the  floor. 
It  consisted  of  a  'spot'  light,  used  to  follow  the  principal  per- 
former, and  a  'flood'  light,  which  was  used  to  produce  the 
moonlight  effect." 

WERE  ELECTRIC  LIGHTS  TURNED  OUT? 

James  B.  Quinn,  general  manager  of  the  Standard  Meter 
company,  who  was  present  throughout  the  panic,  said  on  this 
point:  "Had  the  electrician  who  had  charge  of  the  switches 
for  the  foyer  lights  remained  at  his  post  long  enough  to  have 
turned  on  the  lights  in  the  foyer  there  would  not  have  been 
one-half  the  loss  of  life  in  the  foyer  and  balcony  stairs.  When 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  107 

that  awful  darkness  fell  on  the  house  the  frenzied  people  did 
not  know  where  to  turn.  They  had  not  become  fully  ac- 
quainted with  the  turns  because  the  theater  was  new.  I  was 
there  and  assisted  in  removing-  the  dead  and  dying-,  and  hav- 
ing been  connected  with  lighting-  plants  all  my  life  I  know 
what  I  am  talking  about.  We  did  not  have  an  electric  light 
turned  on  for  two  hours  after  the  fire.  It  was  too  late  then. 
True,  we  had  lanterns,  but  they  were  inadequate  and  would 
not  have  been  needed  had  the  electrician  or  his  assistant  done 
their  duty.  When  the  lights  were  turned  on  it  was  done  by, 
outside  electricians." 

STATEMENT  OF  MESSRS.  DAVIS  AND  POWERS, 
MANAGERS  OF  THE  THEATER. 

When  the  fire  broke  out  Manager  Will  J.  Davis  of  the  Iro 
quois  was  attending  a  funeral.  A  telephone  message  was 
quietly  whispered  to  him  and,  after  hesitating  a  moment, 
Davis  unostentatiously  slipped  on  his  overcoat  and  left  the 
place. 

Mr.  Davis  and  Harry  J.  Powers  later  stated  as  follows: 

"So  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain  the  cause  or 
causes  of  the  most  unfortunate  accident  of  the  fire  in  the 
Iroquois,  it  appears  that  one  of  the  scenic  draperies  was  no- 
ticed to  have  ignited  from  some  cause.  It  was  detected  be- 
fore it  had  reached  an  appreciable  flame,  and  the  city  fireman 
who  is  detailed  and  constantly  on  duty  when  the  theater  is 
open  noticed  it  simultaneously  with  the  electrician. 

"The  fireman,  who  was  only  a  few  feet  away,  immediately 
pulled  a  tube  of  kilfire,  of  which  there  were  many  hung  about 
the  stage,  and  threw  the  contents  upon  the  blaze,  which  would 
have  been  more  than  enough,  if  the  kilfire  had  been  effective, 
to  have  extinguished  the  flame  at  once;  but  for  some  cause 


io8  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

inherent  in  the  tube  of  kilfire  it  had  no  effect.  The  fireman 
and  electrician  then  ordered  down  the  asbestos  curtain,  and 
the  fireman  threw  the  contents  of  another  tube  of  kilfire  upon 
the  flame,  with  no  better  result. 

"The  commotion  thus  caused  excited  the  alarm  of  the  au- 
dience, which  immediately  started  for  the  exits,  of  which 
there  are  twenty-five  of  unusual  width,  all  opening  out,  and 
ready  to  the  hand  of  any  one  reaching  them.  The  draft  thus 
caused,  it  is  believed,  before  the  curtain  could  be  entirely  low- 
ered, produced  a  bellying  of  the  asbestos  curtain,  causing  a 
pressure  on  the  guides  against  the  solid  brick  wall  of  the  pros- 
cenium, thus  stopping  its  descent. 

"Every  effort  was  made  by  those  on  the  stage  to  pull  it 
down,  but  the  draft  was  so  great,  it  seems,  that  the  pressure 
against  the  proscenium  wall  and  the  friction  caused  thereby 
was  so  strong  that  they  could  not  be  overcome.  The  audience 
became  panic-stricken  in  their  efforts  to  reach  the  exits  and 
tripped  and  fell  over  each  other  and  blocked  the  way. 

"The  audience  was  promptly  admonished  and  importuned 
by  persons  employed  on  the  stage  and  in  the  auditorium  to 
be  calm  and  avoid  any  rush;  that  the  exits  and  facilities  for 
emptying  the  theater  were  ample  to  enable  them  all  to  get  out 
without  confusion. 

"No  expense  or  precaution  was  omitted  to  make  the  theater 
as  fireproof  as  it  could  be  made,  there  being  nothing  com- 
bustible in  the  construction  of  the  house  except  the  trimmings 
and  furnishings  of  the  stage  and  auditorium.  In  the  build- 
ing of  the  theater  we  sacrificed  more  space  to  aisles  and  exits 
than  any  theater  in  America." 

'  \ 


- 

' 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  109 

FIRST  RELIABLE  STATEMENT  AS  TO  WHY  THE 
CURTAIN  DID  NOT  COME  DOWN. 

The  man  who  gave  the  first  reliable  explanation  of  the  fail- 
ure of  the  "asbestos"  curtain  to  operate  properly  was  John 
C.  Massoney,  a  carpenter,  who  was  working  as  a  scene  shifter. 

"The  reflector  was  constructed  of  galvanized  iron  or  some 
similar  material,  with  a  concave  surface  covered  with  quick- 
silver about  two  feet  in  width,"  he  said. 

"The  reflector  was  twenty  feet  long  and  was  set  on  end. 
The  inner  edge  was  attached  to  the  stage  side  of  the  jamb  of 
the  proscenium  walls  with  hinges.  Along  the  inner  edge,  next 
the  hinges,  was  a  row  of  incandescent  electric  lamps. 

"When  the  reflector  was  not  in  use  it  was  set  back  in  a 
niche  in  the  proscenium  wall,  and  the  curtain,  when  lowered, 
passed  over  it.  When  used  it  was  swung  around  to  the  de- 
sired position,  and  projected  from  the  wall.  When  the  re- 
flector was  in  use  it  prevented  the  curtain  being  lowered. 
!"  "I  have  not  ascertained  whether  the  reflector  was  in  use. 
The  one  on  the  south  side  of  the  stage  was  not,  and  from  this 
I  infer  that  the  one  on  the  north  was  not  being  used.  If  it 
was  not  in  use,  then  somebody  must  have  been  careless." 

Massoney  said  he  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  stage  when 
the  fire  started. 

"I  did  not  see  the  fire  start,  but  I  saw  it  soon  after  it  be- 
gan," he  said.  "The  fire  was  in  the  arch  drapery  curtain, 
which  is  the  fourth  curtain  back  of  the  'asbestos'  curtain.  I 
saw  the  'asbestos'  curtain  coming  down  soon  after,  but  I  no- 
ticed that  the  south  end  was  very  much  lower  than  the  north 
end.  The  south  end  was  within  four  or  five  feet  of  the  stage 
floor,  while  the  north  end  was  much  higher. 

"T  ran  round  to  the  north  side  and  up  the  stairs  to  the  north 


i  io  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

bridge.  I  found  the  north  end  of  the  curtain  was  resting  on 
the  reflector.  I  tried  to  reach  the  curtain  to  push  it  off  the 
reflector,  but  could  just  touch  it.  I  could  not  get  hold  of  it. 
I  am  5  feet  n  inches  tall,  and  I  can  reach  a  foot  above  my 
head  at  least,  so  I  figure  that  the  north  end  of  the  curtain  was 
'nineteen  or  twenty  feet  from  the  floor. 

"When  I  first  reached  the  bridge  sparks  ,were  flying  in  one 
little  place  near  me,  but  before  I  got  down  I  saw  a  great 
sheet  of  circular  flame  going  out  under  the  curtain  into  the 
audience  room.  I  stayed  on  the  bridge  as  long  as  I  could  trying 
to  move  the  curtain.  I  half  fell  down  the  stairs  of  the  bridge 
and  got  out  as  fast  as  I  could." 

"Why  didn't  you  call  some  one  to  help  you?" 

"There  was  no  one  on  the  bridge  when  I  got  there  and  no 
one  on  duty,  that  I  could  see,  on  the  north  side  of  the  stage." 

"Was  the  reflector  in  use?" 

"I  do  not  know." 

"Whose  duty  was  it  to  look  after  the  reflector?" 

"I  do  not  know." 

"Did  the  curtain  blow  to  pieces?" 

"It  seemed  all  right.     There  was  no  hole  in  it  that  I  saw." 

ANOTHER  STORY  AS  TO  WHY  THE  CURTAIN  DID 

NOT  LOWER. 

Joe  Dougherty,  the  man  who  attempted  to  lower  the  as- 
bestos curtain,  says  that  the  reason  it  stuck  and  would  not 
come  down  was  that  it  stuck  on  the  arc  spot  light  in  the  first 
entrance  near  the  top  of  the  proscenium  arch.  He  was  the 
last  man  to  leave  the  fly  loft  and  at  the  time  he  attempted 
to  lower  the  asbestos  curtain  he  was  twenty  feet  or  more 
above  it,  so  that  when  it  caught  on  the  arc  spot  light  he  was 
unable  to  extricate  it.  The  opening  of  the  big  double  doors 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  in 

at  the  rear  of  the  stage,  he  says,  caused  such  a  draft  that  the 
curtain  could  not  be  raised  again  to  free  it  from  the  obstruc- 
tion. 

Dougherty  denies  that  the  wire  used  by  the  flying  ballet 
had  anything  tt>  do  with  the  obstruction  of  the  curtain.  The 
regular  curtain  was  within  a  few  inches  of  the  asbestos  sheet 
and  had  been  operated  a  few  minutes  before  the  fire  occurred. 
If  one  curtain  worked  the  other  would  if  the  flying  ballet  rig- 
ging was  not  in  the  way. 

THE  THEATER  FIREMAN'S  NARRATIVE. 

W.  C.  Sailer  was  the  fireman  employed  by  the  theater  man- 
agers to  look  after  fire  protection.  He  was  formerly  con- 
nected with  the  city  fire  department. 

"I  was  on  the  floor  of  the  stage  about  twenty  feet  from 
the  light,"  he  said.  "The  base  of  the  light  was  on  a  bridge 
fifteen  feet  from  the  floor.  The  light  was  about  five  feet 
high  and  was  within  a  foot  and  a  half  or  two  feet  of  the  edge 
of  the  proscenium  arch  and  close  to  the  curtains.  I  saw  the 
flame  running  up  the  edge  of  the  curtain  and  ran  to  the  bridge. 
I  threw  kilfire  on  the  burning  curtain  but  saw  it  did  not  stop 
the  blaze  and  yelled  to  those  below  to  lower  the  asbestos  cur- 
tain. When  the  curtain  was  within  fifteen  feet  of  the  stage 
floor  the  draft  caused  it  to  bulge  out  and  stick  fast.  It  was 
impossible  to  lower  the  curtain  further,  and  after  that  nothing 
could  be  done  to  stop  the  fire. 

"In  my  opinion  the  draft  was  caused  by  the  doors  opening 
off  the  stage  into  the  alley  and  Dearborn  street.  There  were 
no  explosions  except  the  blowing  out  of  fuses  in  the  electric 
lighting  system." 

Sailer  was  severely  burned  about  the  hands  and  fac* 


112  1ROQUO1S  THEATER  DISASTER. 

THE  STAGE  CARPENTER. 
Edward  Cummings,  stage  carpenter,  and  his  son,  R.  N. 
Cummings,  his  assistant,  of  1116  California  avenue,  testified 
that  the  fire  started  in  the  curtains  at  the  south  end  of  the  stage. 
Both  asserted  that  the  draft  or  suction  caused  the  asbestos 
curtain  to  stick.  They  said  the  fire  spread  with  remarkable 
rapidity  among  the  curtains,  which  were  about  two  feet  apart, 
and  when  the  asbestos  curtain  stopped  they  said  that  no  hu- 
man agency  could  have  prevented  the  disaster  that  followed. 

THE  CHIEF  ELECTRICAL  INSPECTOR'S  TALE. 

Chief  Electrical  Inspector  H.  H.  Hornsby  of  the  city  elec- 
trician's department  declared  the  electric  wires  in  the  theater 
were  in  the  best  condition  of  any  building  in  Chicago. 

"The  wire  leading  to  the  calcium  arc  light  might  have  been 
broken  or  detached,"  he  said.  "It  requires  no  volts  of  elec- 
trkity  to  operate  one  of  those  lights.  The  man  operating  the 
light  may  have  got  his  legs  or  arms  entangled  in  the  wires 
and  broken  one  of  them  at  the  point  of  connection  or  he  may 
have  pulled  the  light  too  far  and  broken  or  detached  the  wire. 
The  arc  created  would  have  produced  intense  heat  and  readuy 
ignited  the  inflammable  curtain.  If  the  light  had  not  been, 
Set  so  close  to  the  scenery  the  curtain  could  not  have  blown 
into  the  arc. 

"While  the  theater  was  being  wired  Inspector  B.  H.  Tous- 
ley  made  twenty-five  or  thirty  inspections.  Though  the  ord- 
inance requires  only  such  wires  as  are  concealed  to  be  placed 
in  iron  conduits,  in  the  Iroquois  all  wires  were  put  in  iron 
tubes.  The  switchboard  was  of  marble,  with  the  connect- 
ing wires  behind  it  in  iron  conduits.  The  management  seemed 
desirous  of  making  the  electric  system  the  best  possible  and 
adopted  every  suggestion  we  offered  to  improve  its  safety.  I 


IROOUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  1 13 

am  satisfied  there  was  not  a  better  job  in  Chicago.     I  do  not 
believe  it  coulc^  have  been  made  safer. 

"It  is  impossible  to  guard  against  a  wire  being  broken.  The 
wire  leading  from  the  switchboard  could  not  be  inclosed  in 
an  iron  conduit.  It  had  to  be  flexible  to  permit  the  light  be- 
ing moved  around.  The  arc  light  was  encased  in  a  closed 
box  to  prevent  sparks  falling  on  the  floor  or  being  blown  into 
the  scenery.  All  the  fusible  plugs  were  in  cartridges  to  pre- 
vent sparks  from  falling  if  the  plugs  burned  out.  Every 
precaution  we  could  think  of  was  taken  to  make  the  system 
absolutely  safe." 

ONE  OF  THE  COMEDIANS  SPEAKS. 

Herbert  Cawthorn,  the  Irish  comedian,  who  took  the  part 
of  Pat  Shaw  in  "Mr.  Bluebeard,"  assisted  many  of  the 
chorus  girls  from  the  stage  exits  in  the  panic.  After  being 
driven  from  the  building  he  made  two  attempts  to  enter  his 
dressing  room,  but  was  driven  back  by  the  firemen,  who  feared 
lest  he  be  overcome  by  the  dense  smoke. 

With  several  others  of  the  leading  actors  in  the  play  Mr. 
Cawthorn  took  refuge  in  a  store  on  Dearborn  street  after  the 
fire.  He  was  still  in  his  abbreviated  stage  costume  and  was 
suffering  considerably  from  the  cold. 

He  gave  a  graphic  description  of  the  origin  of  the  fire  and 
of  the  panic  among  the  stage  hands  and  actors.  He  described 
the  scene  as  follows: 

"I  was  in  a  position  to  see  the  origin  of  the  fire  plainly, 
and  I  feel  positive  that  it  was  an  electric  calcium  light  that 
started  the  fire.  The  calcium  lights  were  being  used  to  il- 
luminate the  stage  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second  act,  when 
the  song,  'In  the  Pale  Moonlight,'  was  being  sung. 

"I  was  standing  behind  a  wing  on  the  lefthand  side,  whir' 


114  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

would  be  the  righthancl  side  to  the  audience,  when  my  atten- 
tion was  attracted  above  by  a  peculiar  sputtering  of  what 
seemed  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  calciums.  It  appears  to  me 
that  one  of  the  calciums  had  flared  up  and  the  sparks  ignited 
the  lint  on  the  curtain.  Instantly  I  turned  my  attention  to- 
ward the  stage  and  saw  that  many  of  the  actors  and  actresses 
had  not  yet  discovered  the  blaze. 

"Just  then  the  fireman  who  is  kept  behind  the  scenes  rushed 
up  with  some  kind  of  a  patent  fire  extinguisher.  Instead  of 
the  stream  from  the  apparatus  striking  the  flames  it  went  al- 
most in  the  opposite  direction.  While  the  stage  fireman  was 
working  the  flames  suddenly  swooped  down  and  out.  Eddie 
Foy  shouted  something  about  the  asbestos  curtain,  and  the 
firemen  attempted  to  use  it  and  the  stage  hands  ran  to  his 
assistance. 

"The  asbestos  curtain  refused  to  work,  and  the  stage  hands 
and  players  began  to  hurry  from  the  theater.  There  was  at 
least  500  people  behind  the  scenes  when  the  fire  started.  I 
assisted  many  of  the  chorus  girls  to  get  out,  and  some  of  them 
were  only  partly  attired.  Two  of  the  young  women  in  par- 
ticular were  naked  from  their  waists  up.  They  had  absolutely 
no  time  to  even  snatch  a  bit  of  clothing  to  throw  over  their 
shoulders." 

ABOUT  THE  LIGHTS. 

A  dozen  different  stories  from  a  dozen  different  people 
were  told  about  the  extinguishment  of  the. electric  lights.  As- 
sistant City  Electrician  Hyland,  who  was  the  acting  head  of 
the  city's  department  during  the  absence  of  City  Electrician 
Ellicott,  stated: 

"The  switchboard  controlling  the  electric  lighting  appara- 
tus is  located  under  the  place  where  the  fire  started  at  the  left 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  115 

side  of  the  stage.  It  was  made  of  metal  and  marble  and 
practically  indestructible.  The  wires  were  led  into  the  switch- 
board through  iron  tubes,  and  those  tubes  and  wires  are  there 
yet.  I  visited  the  theater  after  the  fire  and  turned  on  five  sets 
of  lights.  Those  five  were  in  working  order,  but  I  think  they 
controlled  the  lights  into  the  foyer  and  halls.  The  lights  in 
the  theater  were  burned  out.  That  I  know,  because 
when  I  paid  my  first  visit  to  the  switchboard  I 
found  the  switch  affecting  the  lights  in  the  auditorium  turned 
on.  The  terrific  heat  in  the  theater  when  the  fire  was  sweep- 
ing across  it  must  have  burst  the  glass  bulbs  and  may  have 
melted  the  wires  leading  into  the  lights  in  the  auditorium. 
How  many  minutes  it  took  to  explode  these  incandescent 
lights  and  melt  the  wires  running  to  them  depends  entirely 
upon  the  length  of  time  it  took  the  theater  to  turn  into  a 
furnace. 

"I  have  been  told  that  a  moonlight  scene  was  on  the  stage 
just  before  the  fire  broke  out.  In  such  a  scene  it  would  be 
customary  to  turn  off  most  if  not  all  of  the  lights  in  the  audi- 
torium, so  as  to  darken  the  place  where  the  audience  was  and 
concentrate  upon  the  stage  what  little  light  was  used.  Yet, 
the  way  I  found  the  switchboard,  with  the  circuit  leading  to 
the  auditorium  turned  on,  the  knob  melted  off  and  the  condi- 
tion of  the  board  showing  that  it  could  not  have  been  tam- 
pered with  since  the  fire,  convinces  me  that  the  lights  must 
have  been  on  when  the  fire  broke  out,  or  else  they  were 
turned  on  after  the  first  flames  were  discovered.  It 
is  hard  to  discover  the  facts  even  from  people  who  were  in  the 
theater  at  the  time  it  was  burned.  Almost  every  one  tells  a 
different  story." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SUGGESTIONS  OF  ARCHITECTS  AND  OTHER  EX- 
PERTS AS  TO  AVOIDING  LIKE  CALAMITIES. 

Robert  S.  Lindstrom,  a  well  known  Chicago  architect, 
makes  the  following1  suggestions:  "It  is  earnestly  requested 
that  the  following  suggestions  be  published  for  the  benefit  and 
warning  of  patrons  of  public  places,  also  as  an  aid  to  city  of- 
ficials, architects  and  builders,  as  a  possible  means  of  averting 
another  horror  such  as  has  been  witnessed  in  the  Iroquois 
theater  fire. 

"Every  theater  in  Chicago  is  virtually  a  death  trap  set  for 
patrons  even  under  ordinary  conditions.  Barring  fires  and 
panics,  the  playhouses  are  not  amply  provided  with  exits,  and 
are  unsafe  on  account  of  overcrowding.  Thereby  each  person 
attending  a  performance  in  any  of  Chicago's  theaters  does  so 
at  a  risk  of  his  own  life.  This  also  applies  to  all  halls  that 
are  hurriedly  arranged  for  public  meetings  and  especially 
during  the  election  campaign  work  and  convention  gatherings. 

"A  theater  may  be  absolutely  fire-proof,  but  whe*n  the  seat- 
nig  capacity  of  the  house  has  been  overcrowded  by  reducing 
sizes  of  stairs,  aisles  and  exits  the  building  is  really  worse 
than  a  non-fire-proof  building,  for  in  the  latter  the  smoke 
would  have  a  chance  to  escape. 

"The  following  suggestions  will  partially  avert  such  a  hor- 
ror as  has  been  witnessed  at  the  Iroquois,  which  was  adver- 
tised as  the  safest  fire-proof  theater  in  Chicago: 

"All  seats  throughout  the  house  should  be  placed  far  enough 
apart  from  back  to  back  so  that  an  open  passageway  running 

lie 


.' 

-V 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  117 

from  aisle  to  aisle  shall  be  large  enough  to  allow  a  person 
to  get  out  without  disturbing  all  the  people  seated  in  the  sec- 
tion. In  the  Iroquois  the  seats  in  the  gallery  are  so  closely 
spaced  from  back  to  back  that  one  cannot  sit  in  a  comfortable 
position  at  any  time.  All  seats  should  be  made  of  iron  frame- 
work, with  seats  fixed  so  that  danger  of  catching  clothing  on 
upturned  edges  may  be  averted,  which  in  the  present  theater 
seats  causes  very  much  delay  in  a  rush.  The  upholstering 
should  be  done  with  asbestos  wool  and  all  covering  done  with 
asbestos  fire-resisting  cloth. 

"An  aisle  should  be  left  between  the  orchestra  and  the  front 
row  of  seats.  Main  aisles  should  be  made  so  that  they  con- 
nect with  the  aisle  in  front,  also  the  aisle  in  rear,  without  any 
obstructions,  and  an  exit  door  placed  at  end  of  each  aisle  lead- 
ing directly  to  the  vestibule.  The  present  system  is  one  large 
door  at  the  center  so  that  people  from  the  side  aisles  collide 
with  those  from  the  center  aisles  and  no  one  can  get  out.  It 
is  also  very  important  that  the  door  opening,  with  doors  open, 
is  a  trifle  larger  than  the  aisle;  all  seats  that  face  on  aisles  to 
be  plain  to  prevent  clothing  from  catching  on  same. 

"Carpets  should  be  prohibited  in  all  halls  and  aisles  and  re- 
placed by  interlocking  rubber  tile  or  some  similar  covering  to 
prevent  slipping  in  a  rush. 

"All  steps  should  have  safety  treads,  composed  of  steel  and 
lead,  in  place  of  slate  or  marble,  which  becomes  slippery  and 
dangerous.  Stairs  to  be  straight  without  winds  or  turns  and 
at  every  ten  feet  from  the  sidewalk  there  should  be  a  landing 
twice  as  long  as  the  width  of  the  stairs  and  doors  at  the  foot 
of  the  stairs  should  be  a  trifle  larger  than  the  stair  opening. 

"All  balconies  and  galleries  above  the  first  floor  should 
have  a  metal  hand  rail  back  of  each  row  of  seats  securely  fast- 
ened to  the  floor  construction. 


u8  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

"Doors  should  swing  out;  in  addition  to  door  handle  thres- 
hold to  have  an  automatic  opening  device  so  as  to  throw  doors 
open  in  case  of  fire  or  accident.  Also  at  each  fire  exit  there 
should  be  in  view  of  the  audience  a  box  containing  saw  and 
tools  and  plainly  marked  for  use  in  case  of  fire,  providing 
locks  on  doors  fail  to  work.  In  addition  an  attendant  should 
be  placed  at  each  fire  exit  and  remain  there  until  the  house  is 
vacated  during  every  performance. 

"Fire  escapes  should  be  made  of  regular  stair  pattern  with 
treads  eleven  inches  and  rises  seven  inches,  and  treads  pro- 
vided with  steel  and  lead  composition  covering  and  risers 
closed. 

"Instead  of  sloping  the  ceiling  toward  the  stage  it  should 
be  made  level  with  a  cone  shape  toward  the  center  and  there 
connect  with  a  down  draft  ventilator  and  an  emergency  damp- 
er controlled  by  a  three-way  switch  from  stage,  box  office  and 
each  balcony,  made  large  enough  to  form  a  smoke  flue  in  case 
of  fire.  Wires  controlling  this  ventilator  should  run  in  con- 
duit fireproofed  and  in  addition  to  switch  an  electric  emerg- 
ency switch  weighted  with  a  fused  link  to  make  a  contact  when 
link  breaks.  Same  to  apply  to  stage,  halls  and  stairways, 
except  that  fireproof  ducts  will  connect  halls  and  stairs  with 
outer  air.  In  addition  to  the  ventilator  every  part  of  the 
house  should  be  equipped  with  a  system  of  sprinklers  operated 
automatically  by  a  gravity  system.  A  large  glass  chandelier 
such  as  used  at  the  Iroquois  should  be  prohibited. 

"Emergency  lights  in  case  of  fire  and  accidents  during  the 
performance  to  light  up  the  house  should  be  placed  on  ceiling 
of  main  auditorium,  balconies,  halls  and  stairs  and  built  of 
fire-proof  boxes  with  wired  plate-glass  face.  These  lights 
should  be  operated  on  a  separate  system  and  run  in  fireproof 


IROQUO1S  THEATER  DISASTER.  119 

conduits,  and  controlled  from  the  street  front,  also  to  have  a 
fusible  weighted  switch  on  stage. 

"Fire  doors  should  be  constructed  of  steel  with  wired  plate- 
glass  panels  so  that  fire  can  be  prevented  from  outside  sources, 
but  if  in  case  of  accident  the  lock  should  fail  to  work  from 
the  inside,  the  glass  panel  can  be  broken  with  tools  that  should 
be  placed  in  reach  and  plainly  marked. 

"Calcium  lights  should  be  prohibited  anywhere  in  the  audi- 
torium. The  place  is  generally  on  the  gallery.  In  the  Iro- 
quois  the  scenic  lights  were  placed  at  the  extreme  top  of  the 
upper  gallery,  with  a  supporting  framework  that  rested  on  the 
aisle  floor  and  obstructed  aisle  to  audience. 

"Counter-weights  of  curtain  should  be  made  in  sections  with 
fusible  link  connections  so  that  in  case  of  fire  curtain  will  drop 
of  its  own  weight. 

"Curtain  should  be  constructed  of  steel  framework  and 
made  rigid  and  run  in  steel  guides  of  sufficient  size  to  allow 
for  expansion  in  case  of  fire.  Stage  floor  should  be  four  in- 
ches thick,  solid,  laid  on  concrete  bed. 

"A  special  waiting  room  with  a  special  exit,  entrance  to 
same  to  be  from  main  foyer,  should  be  used  especially  for  pa- 
trons using  carriages  so  as  to  prevent  the  present  system  of 
blocking  exits  and  vestibule  with  people  waiting  for  carriages 
and  preventing  exit  of  crowd. 

"On  stage  of  every  theater  there  should  be  a  fire  plug,  also 
a  hose  long  enough  to  reach  any  part  of  the  house,  to  run  on 
a  reel. 

"A  loss  of  life  in  a  panic  cannot  be  entirely  prevented,  but 
some  of  the  above  suggestions  if  carried  out  will,  at  least, 
prevent  a  wholesale  loss  of  human  life. 

"All  theaters  should  be  thoroughly  investigated  and  where 
the  slightest  detail  is  found  to  conflict  with  the  law  and  the 


120  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

safety  of  an  audience  the  city  officials  should  prevent  the  use 
of  such  house  until  it  has  been  properly  constructed." 

THE  ARCHITECT  SPEAKS. 

Benjamin  H.  Marshall,  architect  of  the  theater,  received  the 
news  of  the  disaster  in  Pittsburgh  Pa.,  and  at  once  started  for 
Chicago.  He  was  stunned  by  the  intelligence,  and,  speaking 
of  it,  said: 

"This  seems  to  be  a  calamity  that  has  no  precedent,  and  I 
can  not  understand  how  so  many  people  were  caught  in  the 
balconies  unless  they  were  stunned  by  the  shock  of  an  ex- 
plosion. There  were  ample  fire  exits  and  they  were  avail- 
able. The  house  could  have  been  emptied  in  less  than  five 
minutes  if  they  were  all  utilized.  The  fact  that  so  many  peo- 
ple were  caught  in  the  balconies  would  prove  that  they  were 
stunned  and  panic-stricken  by  the  report  rather  than  by  the 
fear  of  a  fire.  It  is  difficult  for  me  at  this  time  to  even  guess 
as  to  the  cause  for  the  great  loss  of  life. 

"I  am  completely  upset  by  this  disaster,  more  so  because  I 
have  built  many  theaters  and  have  studied  every  playhouse 
disaster  in  history  to  avoid  errors." 

EXAMINATION  BY  ARCHITECTURAL  EDITOR. 

Robert  Craik  McLean,  editor  of  the  Inland  Architect,  who 
spent  some  time  investigating  the  claim  that  the  theater  was 
equipped  with  an  asbestos  fire  curtain,  said:  "After  a  care- 
ful investigation,  I  am  convinced  that  the  theater  was  not 
equipped  with  a  curtain  such  as  is  demanded  by  the  city  ord- 
inances. 

"I  visited  the  damaged  theater,  but  there  was  no  sign  of  an 
asbestos  curtain.  Fire  will  not  destroy  asbestos,  and  if  there 
was  a  curtain  there  when  the  holocaust  occurred  it  had  been 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER,  121 

removed,  and  an  investigation  should  be  made  to  learn  what 
became  of  it.  If  no  curtain  had  been  removed,  as  is  claimed, 
I  cannot  understand  how  the  claim  can  be  set  up  that  the  the- 
ater had  a  fire  curtain.  No  one  denies  that  there  was  a  cur- 
tain there,  but  had  it  been  made  of  asbestos,  as  required  by 
the  ordinance,  it  would  not  have  been  destroyed  by  the  draft 
of  air,  as  is  claimed  by  the  management  of  the  house.  An 
asbestos  curtain  must  have  a  foundation  of  wire  or  some  oth- 
er material,  and  had  the  Iroquois  been  equipped  with  such  a 
drop  the  wire  screen,  at  least,  would  be  there  to  prove  it." 

"Mr.  Samuel  Frankenstein  of  the  Frankenstein  Calcium 
Light  company,  made  the  statement  to  me  that  he  had  had  a 
conversation  with  the  stage  manager  of  the  Iroquois  regard- 
ing the  fire  drop.  Mr.  Frankenstein  said  that  the  stage  man- 
ager told  him  that  the  Iroquois  stage  was  not  equipped  with 
a  true  fire  curtain.  According  to  Mr.  Frankenstein,  the  stage 
manager  went  further  than  this,  and  declared  that  there  were 
only  three  theaters  in  Chicago  equipped  with  real  asbestos 
drops." 

I 

PROPOSED  PRECAUTIONS  FOR  NEW  YORK 

THEATERS. 

Charles  H.  Israels  of  the  firm  of  Israels  &  Harder,  archi- 
tects of  the  new  Hudson  theater,  and  several  of  the  large  ho- 
tels, suggested  a  number  of  precautions  which  might  be  adopt- 
ed in  New  York  theaters.  Among  other  things  he  advocated 
an  ordinance  requiring  all  the  theater  emergency  exits  to  be 
used  after  each  performance. 

"Nearly  every  modern  theater  in  this  city,"  Mr.  Israels 
said,  "is  adequately  provided  with  exits,  with  which  the  au- 
dience are  not  familiar,  and  which  are  used  so  seldom  that 
the  employes  are  unusued  to  having  the  audience  pass  out 


122  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

through  them.  Besides  the  one  exit  ordinarily  in  use  there 
are  four  emergency  exits,  and  the  law  requires  them  to  open 
either  on  a  brick  enclosed  alley  at  the  side  of  the  theater  or 
directly  into  the  street. 

"The  people  in  the  gallery,  who  are  in  the  place  of  the 
greatest  danger,  would  undoubtedly  become  thoroughly  ac- 
customed to  using  these  outside  stairways. 

"The  main  advantage  to  be  gained  by  this  suggestion  over 
all  others  is  that  it  could  be  put  into  immediate  operation 
without  the  spending  of  a  single  cent  on  the  part  of  the  own- 
ers of  most  of  New  York's  playhouses. 

"In  a  few  of  the  theaters  it  might  be  argued  that  the  stair- 
ways at  the  emergency  exits  were  not  sufficiently  inclosed  to 
allow  the  crowds  to  pass  down  in  safety.  The  law  now  re- 
quires the  stairways  to  be  covered  at  the  top,  and  covering  the 
outside  rail  with  heavy  wire  mesh  raised  about  two  feet  above 
its  present  level  would  prevent  any  one  from  falling  over  the 
side. 

"Fireproof  scenery  or  scenery  which  will  at  least  not  flame, 
is  a  practical  possibility  now.  The  building  code  should  com- 
pel the  use  of  scenery  on  frames  of  light  metal  covered  with 
canvas  that  has  been  saturated  in  a  fireproof  solution.  Fire- 
proof paint  is  compulsory  on  the  woodwork  behind  the  pros- 
cenium wall,  but  in  painting  scenery  combustible  paint  may 
be  used. 

"The  law  should  be  most  strictly  enforced  as  to  the  clean- 
ing out  of  rubbish  beneath  the  stage.  In  a  number  of  the 
theaters  of  New  York  this  is  done  only  occasionally." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THIRTY    EXITS,    YET    HUNDREDS    PERISH    IN 

AWFUL  BLAST. 

Those  in  greatest  danger  througli  proximity  to  the  stage 
did  not  throw  their  weight  against  the  mass  ahead.  Not 
many  died  on  the  first  floor,  proof  of  the  contention  that  some 
restraint  existed  in  this  section  of  the  audience. 

Women  were  trodden  under  foot  near  the  rear;  some  were 
injured.  The  most  at  this  point,  however,  were  rescued  by  the 
determined  rush  of  the  policeman  at  the  entrance  and  of 
the  doorkeeper  and  his  assistants. 

The  theater  had  thirty  exits.  All  were  opened  before  the 
fire  reached  full  headway,  but  some  had  to  be  forced  opened. 
Only  one  door  at  the  Randolph  street  entrance  was  open,  the 
others  being  locked,  according,  it  appears,  to  custom. 

From  within  and  without  these  doors  were  shattered  in  the 
first  two  minutes  after  the  fire  broke  out — by  theater  employes, 
according  to  one  report,  by  the  van  of  the  fleeing  multitude 
and  the  first  of  the  rescuers  from  the  street,  according  to 
another. 

The  doors  to  the  exits  on  the  alley  side,  between  Randolph 
and  Lake  streets,  in  one  or  more  instances,  are  declared  by 
those  who  escaped  to  have  been  either  frozen  or  rusted.  They 
opened  to  assaults,  but  priceless  seconds  were  lost. 

Before  this  time  Foy  had  run  back  across  the  stage  and 
reached  the  alley.  With  him  fled  the  members  of  the  aerial 
ballet,  the  last  of  the  performers  to  get  out.  The  aerialists 


124  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

j 

owed  their  lives  to  the  boy  in  charge  of  the  fly  elevator.  They 
were  aloft,  in  readiness  for  their  flight  above  the  heads  of 
the  audience.  The  elevator  boy  ran  his  cage  up  even  with  the 
line  of  fire,  took  them  in,  and  brought  them  safely  down. 

As  Foy  and  the  group  reached  the  outer  doorway  the  stage 
loft  collapsed  and  tons  of  fire  poured  over  the  stage. 

Tjie  lights  went  out  in  the  theater  with  this  destruction  of 
the  switchboard  and  all  stage  connections.  One  column  of 
flame  rose  and  swished  along  the  ceiling  of  the  theater.  Then 
this  awful  illumination  also  was  swallowed  up.  None  may 
paint  from  personal  understanding  that  which  took  place  ir> 
that  pit  of  flame  lit  darkness.  None  lives  to  tell  it. 

To  those  still  caught  in  the  structure  the  light  of  life  went 
out  when  the  electric  globes  grew  dark. 

In  spite  of  the  terrible  form,  of  their  destruction,  it  came 
swiftly  enough  to  shorten  pain.  This  at  least  was  true  of 
those~  who  died  in  the  second  balcony,  striving  to  reach  the 
alley  exits  abreast  of  them. 

Six  and  seven  feet  deep  they  were  found,  not  packed  in 
layers  but  jumbled  and  twisted  in  the  struggle  with  one  an- 
otherj? 

Op'posite  the  westernmost  exit  of  the  balcony— on  the  allev 
— was  a  room  in  the  Northwestern  University  building  (the 
old  Tremont  house)  where  painters  were  working,  wiping  out 
the  traces  of  another  fire. 

They  heard  the  sound  of  the  detonation  of  the  fuse;  they 
heard  the  rush  of  feet  toward  the  exit  across  the  way.  Out 
on  the  iron  stairway  came  a  man,  pushed  by  a  power  behind, 
himself  crazy  with  fear.  He  would  have  run  down  the  iron 
fire  escape,  but  flames  burst  out  of  the  exit  beneath  and 
wrapped  themselves  around  the  iron  ladder. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  125 

HORRIBLE    SIGHT    MET    THE    FIREMEN    UPON 
ENTERING  AUDITORIUM. 

The  postures  in  which  death  was  met  showed  how  the  end 
had  come  to  many. 

A  husband  and  wife  were  locked  so  tightly  in  one  another's 
arrris  that  the  bodies  had  to  be  taken  out  together.  A  wom- 
an had  thrown  her  arms  around  a  child  in  a  vain  effort  to  save 
her.  Both  were  burned  beyond  recognition. 

The  sight  of  the  children's  bodies  broke  down  the  com- 
posure of  the  most  restrained  of  the  rescuers.  As  little  form 
after  form  was  brought  out  the  tears  ran  down  the  faces  of 
policemen,  firemen  and  bystanders.  Small  hands  were 
clenched  before  childish  faces — fruitless  attempts  at  protec- 
tion from  the  scorching  blast. 

Most  of  the  children  could  be  recognized.  Fate  allowed  that 
thin  shadow  of  mercy.  They  fell  beneath  their  taller  com- 
panions. The  flames  reached  them,  but  they  were  face  down- 
ward, other  forms  were  above  them,  and  generally  their  fea- 
tures were  spared. 

The  persons  crowded  off  the  fire  escape  platform,  and  those 
who  jumped  voluntarily  by  their  own  death  saved  persons  on 
the  lower  floor  from  injury.  Scores  jumped  from  the  exits 
at  the  first  balcony,  the  first  to  death  and  injury,  the  ones 
behind  to  comparative  safety  on  the  thick  cushion  of  the  bod- 
ies of  those  who  preceded  them  and  who  fell  from  the  bal- 
cony above.  Other  hundreds  from  the  main  floor  jumped  on 
to  the  same  cushion — an  easy  distance  of  six  feet — without 
any  injury. 

When  the  firemen  came  they  spread  nets,  but  the  nets  were 
black,  and  in  the  gloom  they  could  not  be  seen.  They  saved 
few  lives — argument  for  the  use  of  white  nets  hereafter. 


126  IROQU01S  THEATEK   DISASTER. 

The  chain  of  mishaps  surrounding  the  catastrophe  extended 
to  the  fire  alarm.  There  was  no  fire  alarm  box  in  front  of 
the  theater,  as  at  other  theaters.  A  stage  hand  ran  down  the 
alley  to  South  Water  street  and  by  word  of  mouth  turned  in 
a  "still"  alarm  to  No.  13.  The  box  alarm  did  not  follow  for 
some  precious  minutes.  At  least  four  minutes  were  lost  in 
this  way. 

Of  the  900  persons  seated  in  t^ie  first  and  second  balconies 
few  if  any  escaped  without  serious  injury. 

So  fiercely  the  fire  burned  during  the  short  time  in  which 
hundreds  of  lives  were  sacrificed  that  the  velvet  cushions  of 
the  balcony  seats  were  burned  bare. 

The  crowds  fought  so  in  their  efforts  to  escape  that  they 
tore  away  the  iron  railings  of  the  balconies,  leaping  upon  the 
people  below. 

From  3  o'clock,  when  the  alarm  was  sent  in,  to  7:30 
o'clock,  when  the  doors  of  the  theater  were  closed,  the  charred, 
torn,  and  blistered  bodies  were  carried  from  the  building  at 
the  rate  of  four  a  minute.  One  hundred  were  taken  out) 
across  the  plank  way. 

Many  blankets  filled  with  fragments  of  human  bodies  were 
taken  from  the  building. 

Hundreds  of  bodies  were  taken  frorp  the  building,  their 
clothing  gone,  their  faces  charred  beyond  recognition.  Under 
pretense  of  serving  as  rescuers  ghouls  gained  entrance  to  the 
theater  and  robbed  the  dead  and  dying  in  the  midst  of  the 
fire. 

Men  fell  on  their  knees  and  prayed.  Men  and  women  cursed. 
A  rush  was  made  for  the  Randolph  street  exits.  In  their  fear 
the  crowds  forgot  the  many  side  exits,  and  rushed  for  the 
doors  at  which  they  had  entered  the  theater.  Little  boys  and 
girls  were  thrown  to  one  side  by  their  stronger  companions. 


IROQUO1S  THEATER  DISASTER.  127 

Ten  baskets  of  money  and  jewelry  thrown  in  this  manner 
were  picked  up  from  the  main  floor  when  the  fire  was  extin- 
guished. 

Men  and  women  tore  their  clothing  from  them.  As  the 
first  rush  was  made  for  the  foyer  entrance  to  the  balconies 
men,  women  and  children  were  thrown  bodily  down  the  steps. 

A  few  score  of  those  nearest  the  doorways  escaped  by  fall- 
ing or  being  thrown  down  the  stairs  of  the  main  balcony  en- 
trances. 

Scores  were  wedged  in  the  doorways,  pinned  by  the  force 
of  those  behind  them.  There  in  the  narrow  aisle  at  the  bal- 
cony entrances  they  were  suffocated  and  fell — tons  of  human 
weight. 

All  succeeded  in  leaving  their  seats  in  the  first  balcony. 
Climbing  over  the  seats  and  rushing  up  the  slanting  aisles  to 
the  level  aisles  above,  they  fought  their  way.  Those  at  the 
bottom  of  the  mass  were  burned  but  little.  The  top  layer 
of  bodies  was  burned  till  they  never  can  be  identified. 

Darkness  shrouded  the  theater  with  its  hundreds  of  dead 
when  the  fire  was  under  control  that  the  building  could  be  en- 
tered. The  firemen  were  forced  to  work  in  smoky  darkness 
when  they  started  carrying  the  bodies  from  the  balconies. 

THE  GALLERY  HORROR. 

James  M.  Strong,  a  Chicago  board  of  trade  clerk,  the  sole 
survivor  of  all  the  occupants  of  the  gallery  who  tried  to  es- 
cape through  the  locked  door,  smashed  with  his  fist  a  glass 
transom  and  climbed  through  it.  Three  members  of  his  fam- 
ily, who  followed  him  down  the  passageway,  shared  the  fate 
of  others.  Their  bodies  since  have  been  discovered,  burned 
Almost  beyond  recognition. 


128  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

"If  the  door  hadn't  been  locked  hundreds  of  persons  could 
have  saved  'their  lives,"  said  Strong. 

The  passageway,  along  which  Strong  and  many  now  dead 
ran  to  supposed  safety,  led  toward  the  front  of  the  theater, 
past  the  top  entrance  to  the  gallery.  Strong  had  been  unable 
to  secure  seats  and  was  standing  in  the  rear  of  the  gallery 
with  his  mother,  Mrs.  B.  K.  Strong,  his  wife,  and  his  niece, 
Vera,  16  years  old,  of  Americus,  Ga.  When  the  fire  started 

all  ran  toward  the  nearest  exit. 

. 

"The  exit  was  crowded,"  said  Strong.  "We  ran  on  down 
a  passage  at  the  side  of  it,  followed  by  many  others.  At  the 
end,  down  a  short  flight  of  steps,  was  a  door.  It  was  locked. 
In  desperation  I  threw  myself  against  it.  I  couldn't  budge  it. 
Then,  standing  on  the  top  step  of  the  little  stairway,  I  smashed 
the  glass  above  with  my  fist  and  crawled  through  the  transom. 

"When  I  fell  on  the  outside  I  heard  the  screams  on  the  oth- 
er side,  and,  scrambling  to  my  feet,  I  tried  again  to  open  the 
door,  but  couldn't.  The  key  was  not  there.  I  ran  down  a 
stairway  to  the  floor  below,  where  I  found  a  carpenter.  I 
asked  him  to  give  me  something  to  break  down  the  door,  and 
he  got  me  a  short  board.  I  ran  back  with  this  and  began 
pounding,  but  the  door  was  too  heavy  to  be  broken. 

"I  scarcely  know  what  happened  afterward.  Smoke  was 
pouring  over  the  transom  and  I  felt  myself  suffocating.  Alone, 
or  with  the  assistance  of  the  carpenter,  I  at  last  found  myself 
at  the  bottom  of  the  stairway  opening  into  the  lobby  of  the 
theater.  From  there  I  pushed  my  way  to  the  street.  Until 
then  I  didn't  know  I  was  burned." 

GIRL'S  MIRACULOUS  ESCAPE. 

The  most  miraculous  escape  was  that  of  Winnie  Gallagher, 
an  1 1 -year-old  girl,  who  occupied  a  seat  with  her  aunt  al- 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.   .         129 

\ 

most'  directly  under  the  stage.  When  the  panic  was  started 
she  jumped  to  her  feet  and  after  being  thrown  about  and 
trampled  upon  and  having  her  clothing  torn  from  her  she  man- 
aged to  climb  over  the  seats  and  reach  the  street  in  safety. 
What  few  pieces  of  wearing  apparel  she  had  on  at  the  time 
were  in  ribbons  and  a  messenger  boy,  seeing  her  predicament, 
pulled  off  his  overcoat  and  wrapped  it  around  her.  She  went  . 
to  the  Central  station,  where  she  gave  the  police  her  name  and 
asked  thatv  someone  take  her  to  her  home,  4925  Michigan 
avenue. 

AN  ACCOUNT  FROM  THE  BOXES. 

The  first  two  lower  boxes  on  the  left  of  the  stage  were  oc- 
cupied by  a  party  of  young  women  who  were  being  entertained 
by  Mrs.  Rollin  A.  Keyes  of  Evanston,  in  honor  of  her  young 
daughter,  Miss  Catherine  Keyes,  who  was  home  from  school  in 
Washington  for  the  holidays. 

"We  arrived  at  the  theater  shortly  after  the  first  act,"  said 
Miss  Emily  Plamondon  of  Astoria,  Ore.,  a  member  of  the 
party,  in  describing  the  fire.  "As  far  as  I  could  see  the  house 
was  filled  with  women  and  children,  who  occupied  seats  on 
the  first  floor  and  in  the  galleries.  It  was  about  a  quarter  to 
3  when  one  of  the  young  women  in  the  party  asked  Mrs. 
Keyes  if  she  did  not  smell  something  burning  and  an  instant 
afterward  a  great  cloud  of  smoke  spread  across  the  stage  and 
into  the  body  of  the  house.  Immediately  we  realized  the 
danger  we  were  in,  as  did  all  around  us.  Instead  of  a  rush 
to  the  doors,  the  audience  gazed  for  a  moment  at  the  stage, 
and  as  a  whole  the  people  appeared  very  calm,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  as  if  contemplating  how  they  would  escape. 

"Again  another  cloud  of  smoke  issued  from  the  stage  and 
several  stage  hands  appeared,  shouting  at  the  top  of  their 


130  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

voices  for  the  people  to  sit  down.  But  it  was  only  for  an 
instant  that  they  obeyed,  for  by  that  time  the  smoke  had  spread 
through  the  theater  and  men,  women  and  children  were  gasp- 
ing for  breath.  Then  a  mad  rush  was  made  for  the  doors 
and  for  the  supposed  exits,  but  in  vain.  Mrs.  Pearson  and 
Mrs.  Keyes  commanded  us  to  keep  together  by  all  means  and 
just  as  we  were  leaving  the  boxes  the  theater  became  darkened, 
which,  I  suppose,  was  caused  by  the  burning  out  of  the  elec- 
tric light,  and  thus  made  our  escape  the  harder.  We  plodded 
through  the  aisles  until  we  came  within  about  ten  feet  of  the 
main  entrance  without  encountering  any  violence  from  the 
panic-stricken  women  and  children  who  were  fighting  for 
their  lives.  Then  the  crush  became  terrible  and  the  members 
of  our  party,  Mrs.  Rollin  A.  Keyes,  Mrs.  Pearson,  Misses 
Charlotte  Plamondon,  Catherine  Keyes,  Elmore  of  Oregon, 
Amelia  Ormsby,  Grace  Hills,  Josephine  Eddy  and  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Eddy  realized  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  get  to  the 
street  through  that  door. 

"It  was  only  a  short  time,  however,  when  somebody 
knocked  down  two  doors,  which  had  been  locked,  and  the 
majority  of  the  people  on  the  first  floor  escaped  through  them 
without  serious  injury.  Miss  Charlotte  Plamondon,  who  was 
bruised  about  the  face  and  hands,  and  I  were  the  only  ones 
in  the  party  who  escaped  with  our  wraps.  The  others  had 
their  clothes  torn  almost  from  them,  as  they  were  hurrying 
from  the  burning  theater. 

"Before  we  had  left  the  boxes  the  fire  had  spread  to  the 
first  row  of  seats  and  the  stage  hands  were  endeavoring  tc 
lower  the  asbestos  curtain.  When  it  was  about  half  down  it 
became  caught  and  the  attempt  to  drop  it  was  abandoned.  A 
great  gush  of  fire  then  spread  to  the  draperies  over  the  boxes. 
The  people  were  wonderfully  calm,  it  seemed  to  me,  for  so 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  131 

crucial  a  moment  and  it  was  not  until  the  smoke  filled  the 
house  that  they  became  frantic  and  screamed  for  help.  We 
could  hardly  breathe  and  I  believe  had  we  been  in  the  theater 
a  few  minutes  longer  we,  too,  would  have  been  suffocated, 
as  the  heat  and  smoke  were  becoming  unendurable.  Had  the 
exits  been  open  and  unlocked  the  loss  of  life  would  not  have 
been  nearly  so  great." 

"We  were  seated  for  half  an  hour  before  the  fire  broke  out. 
Our  attention  was  first  attracted  by  a  wreath  of  flame,  which 
crept  slowly  along  the  red  velvet  curtain.  We  all  noticed  it. 
So  did  the  audience  and  I  could  see  little  girls  and  boys  in 
the  orchestra  chairs  point  upward  at  the  slowly  moving  line 
of  flame.  As  the  fire  spread  the  people  in  the  balcony  and  on 
the  first  floor  arose  to  their  feet  as  if  to  rush  out  of  the  place. 
Then  Eddie  Foy  hurried  to  the  front  of  the  stage  and  com- 
manded the  people  to  be  quiet,  saying  that  if  they  would  re- 
main seated  the  danger  would  be  averted.  All  the  people  who 
were  then  on  the  stage  maintained  remarkable  presence  of  mind 
and  the  chorus  girls  endeavored  to  divert  the  attention  of  their 
auditors  off  the  fire  by  going  on  with  their  parts. 

"I  looked  over  the  faces  of  the  audience  and  remarked  how 
many  children  were  present.  I  could  see  their  faces  filled  with 
interest  and  their  eyes  wide  open  as  they  watched  the  burning 
curtain. 

"Then  I  looked  behind  me  and  realized  the  awful  conse- 
quence should  the  people  become  alarmed.  The  doors,  ex- 
cept for  the  one  through  which  we  entered  the  theater,  were 
closed  and  apparently  fastened.  Up  in  the  balcony  I  could 
see  people  crowding  forward  in  order  to  obtain  a  better  view. 
Again  the  audience  arose  as  if  to  flee. 

"Eddie  Foy  again  rushed  on  the  stage  and  waved  his  arms 
in  a  gesture  for  the  people  to  be  seated.  But  just  then  the 


132  1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

shrill  cry  of  a  woman  caused  the  women  and  children  to  rise 
to  their  feet,  filled  with  a  sudden  and  uncontrollable  terror. 

"  'Fire !'  I  heard  her  exclaim,  and  in  another  instant  the 
eyes  of  the  audience  were  turned  to  the  exits  in  the  rear.  The 
flames  lighted  up  the  stage  as  the  light  tinsel  stuffs  blazed  up, 
and  the  scene  changed  from  mimicry  to  tragedy.  A  confused, 
rumbling  noise  filled  the  theater  from  the  pit  to  the  dome.  I 
knew  it  was  the  sound  of  a  thousand  people  preparing  to  leave 
their  seats  and  rush  madly  from  the  impending  danger.  The 
noise  of  their  footsteps  in  the  balcony  was  soon  deadened  by 
the  cries  for  aid  from  those  who  were  hemmed  in  by  the  strug- 
gling mass. 

"On  the  stage  the  chorus  girls,  who  had  exhibited  rare 
presence  of  mind,  turned  to  flee.  Many  were  overcome  before 
they  could  stir  a  step.  They  fell  to  the  floor  and  I  saw  the 
men  in  the  cast  and  the  stage  hands  lift  them  to  their  feet 
and  carry  them  to  the  rear  of  the  stage.  By  this  time  the 
scenery  was  a  mass  of  flames." 

INSPECTION  AFTER  THE  FIRE. 

Deputy  Building  Commissioner  Stanhope  with  three  in- 
spectors made  a  thorough  examination  of  the  theater  build- 
ing yesterday. 

"I  first  examined  the  building  with  respect  to  the  safety  of 
its  walls  and  found  them  in  perfect  condition,"  said  Mr.  Stan- 
hope. "They  are  not  out  of  plumb  an  inch  and  are  as  good 
as  they  ever  were.  The  steel  structure  is  not  injured  except 
that  portion  which  supported  the  stage.  The  heat  has  twisted 
some  of  the  supports  but  they  can  be  replaced  at  little  cost. 
Except  the  backs  of  the  seats  and  the  floor  of  the  stage  the 
interior  of  the  auditorium  was  not  injured  by  the  fire.  The 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  133 

carpets  in  the  gallery,  where  most  of  the  people  were  killed, 
were  not  even  scorched." 

A  YOUNG  HEROINE. 

Verma  Goss  is  one  of  the  young  heroines  of  the  fire.  She 
attended  the  theater  in  a  party  composed  of  her  mother,  Mrs. 
Joseph  Goss;  her  5-year-old  sister,  Helen;  Mrs.  Greenwald 
of  536  Byron  street  and  her  young  son  Leroy.  In  the  rush 
for  the  door  Miss  Verma  caught  her  young  sister's  hand  and 
pulled  her  out  of  the  crowd  and  carried  the  child  to  safety. 
She  thought  her  mother  was  following,  but  she  and  her  sis- 
ter were  the  only  ones  of  the  party  who  escaped. 

A  NARROW  ESCAPE. 

Mrs.  William  Mueller,  with  her  two  children,  Florence 
Marie,  5  years  of  age,  and  Barbara  Belle,  7,  occupied  a  seat 
in  the  parquet. 

"I  was  not  in  the  theater  auditorium,"  said  Mrs.  Mueller. 
"I  was  in  one  of  the  waiting  rooms,  but  was  on  my  way  to 
our  seats.  As  I  entered  the  doors  somebody  yelled  fire.  I 
looked  up  and  saw  the  curtain  ablaze.  Then  came  the  stam- 
pede. I  picked  up  my  children  and  ran  toward  the  door.  I 
was  caught  in  the  jam  and  it  seemed  that  I  would  fail  to  reach 
it.  Some  man  saw  my  plight  and  jumped  to  my  assistance. 
He  picked  up  Florence  and  threw  her  over  the  heads  of  the 
rushing  people.  She  fell  upon  the  pavement,  but  was  not 
badly  injured." 

FINDS  WIFE  IN  HOSPITAL. 

The  first  woman  to  be  rescued  over  the  temporary  bridge 
between  the  theater  and  the  Northwestern  university  build- 
ing was  Mrs.  Mary  Marzein  of  Elgin,  111.  She  was  severely 


134  TROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

burned  and  lost  consciousness  after  her  rescue.  A  score  or 
more  suffered  death  on  every  side  as  she  crept  over  the  lad- 
der. They  were  thrown  aside  and  knocked  down,  but  she 
clung  to  the  ladder  and  escaped.  She  was  taken  to  the  Michael 
Reese  hospital  and  did  not  regain  consciousness  until  the  fol- 
lowing day.  Her  husband,  who  is  an  employe  of  the  Elgin 
\Vatch  Company,  searched  all  the  morgues  and  was  making  a 
tour  of  the  hospitals  when  he  found  his  wife. 

When  Mrs.  Marzein  recovered  in  the  afternoon  the  first 
person  she  inquired  for  was  her  husband,  who  at  that  moment 
was  being  ushered  into  the  room.  Their  eyes  met  as  she  wa§ 
whispering  his  name  to  the  nurse,  and  an  affecting  scene  fol- 
lowed. 

A  MIRACULOUS  AND  UNCONSCIOUS  ESCAPE. 

One  of  the  most  miraculous  escapes  from  the  fire  was  that 
of  Miss  Winifred  Cardona.  She  was  one  of  a  party  of  four 
and  with  her  friends  occupied  seats  in  the  seventh  row  of  the 
parquet. 

"The  first  intimation  I  had  of  the  danger  was  when  I  saw 
one  of  the  chorus  girls  look  upward  and  turn  pale.  My  eyes 
immediately  followed  her  glance  and  I  saw  the  telltale  sparks 
shooting  about  through  the  flies.  The  singing  continued  un- 
til the  blaze  broke  out.  Then  Mr.  Foy  appeared  and  asked 
the  audience  to  keep  their  seats,  assuring  them  that  the  theater 
was  thoroughly  fireproof.  We  obeyed,  but  when  we  saw  the 
seething  mass  behind  struggling  for  the  door  we  rushed  from 
our  seats.  I  became  separated  from  the  other  girls  and  had 
not  gone  far  before  I  stumbled  over  the  prostrate  body  of  a 
woman  who  was  trampled  almost  beyond  recognition.  For 
an  instant  I  thought  it  was  all  over.  Then  I  felt  someone  lift 
me  and  I  knew  no  more  until  I  revived  in  the  street.  It  wa? 


\ 


1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  135 

the  most  awful  experience  I  have  ever  had  and  I  consider  my 
escape  nothing  short  of  miraculous." 

LITTLE  GIRL'S  MARVELOUS  ESCAPE. 

"I'm  the  most  grateful  man  in  all  Chicago,"  said  J.  R. 
Thompson,  who  owns  the  restaurant.  "My  sister  was  in  the 
theater  with  my  two  children — John,  aged  9,  and  Ruth,  aged 
7.  Sister  got  almost  to  the  door  with  both  of  them.  Then 
Ruthie  disappeared.  She  told  me  she  knew  the  child  must  be 
safe,  but  I  was  like  a  maniac.  It  was  an  hour  before  we 
found  her.  How  it  happened  I  didn't  know,  but  she  ran  back 
into  the  theater  and  out  under  the  stage,  out  through  the  stage 
entrance." 

"Where  is  the  little  girl  now?"  I  asked  him. 

"I  sent  her  home  to  her  mother,"  he  said. 

Only  ten  feet  away  lay  the  chestnut-haired  girl  who  "was 
.\  great  one  to  scamper." 

FOUR  GENERATIONS  REPRESENTED. 

Members  of  four  generations  of  a  family  were  turned  into 
mourners,  only  one  member  remaining  from  a  party  of  nine 
made  up  of  Benjamin  Moore  and  eight  of  his  relatives,  of 
whom  only  one,  Mrs.  W.  S.  Hanson,  Hart,  Mich.,  escaped. 
Following  are  the  names  of  the  eight  victims:  Mrs.  Joseph 
Bezenek,  41  years  old,  West  Superior,  Wis.,  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin Moore;  Benjamin  Moore,  72  years  old,  Chicago;  Ro- 
land Mackay,  6  years  old,  Chicago,  grandson  of  Mrs.  Joseph 
Bezenek  and  great  grandson  of  Benjamin  Moore;  Mrs. 
Benjamin  Moore,  47  years  old,  wife  of  Benjamin  Moore;  Jo- 
seph Bezenek,  38  years  old,  West  Superior,  Wis.,  husband  of 
Mrs.  Bezenek  and  son-in-law  of  Benjamin  Moore;  Mrs.  Per- 


136  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

ry  Moore,  33  years  old,  Hart,  Mich.,  daughter-in-law  of  Ben- 
jamin Moore;  Miss  Sibyl  Moore,  Hart,  Mich.,  13  years  old, 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Perry  Moore  and  granddaughter  of  Benja- 
min Moore;  Miss  Lucile  Bond,  10  years  old,  daughter  of 
George  H.  Bond  and  granddaughter  of  Benjamin  Moore, 
Chicago. 

DAUGHTERS  AND  GRANDCHILDREN  GONE. 

Three  daughters  and  two  grandchildren,  constituting  the 
entire  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morris  Eger,  Chicago,  per- 
ished in  the  fire.  The  daughters  were  Miss  S.  Eger,  who 
was  a  teacher  in  the  Mosely  school ;  Mrs.  Marion  Rice,  wife  of 
A.  Rice,  and  Mrs.  Rose  Bloom,  wife  of  Max  Bloom,  and  the, 
children  were:  Erna,  the  lo-year-old  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Rice,  and  her  n -year-old  brother,  Ernest. 

After  a  long  search  among  the  many  morgues  of  the  city 
the  bodies  were  all  identified,  two  of  them  being  found  there. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOW  THE  NEW  YEAR  WAS  USHERED  IN. 

The  New  Year  came  to  Chicago  with  muffled  drums,  two 
days  after  the  calamity  that  threw  the  great  metropolis  into 
mourning. 

Scarcely  a  sound  was  heard  as  1904  entered. 

Jan.  i — day  of  funerals — was  received  in  silence.  Streets 
were  almost  deserted,  even  downtown.  Men  hurried  silently 
along  the  sidewalks.  There  were  not  half  a  dozen  tin  horns  in 
the  downtown  district  where  ordinarily  the  blare  of  trumpets, 
screech  of  steam  whistles,  volleys  of  shots  and  the  merriment 
of  late  wayfarers  make  the  entrance  of  a  new  year  a  period  of 
deafening  pandemonium. 

Merrymakers  were  quiet  when  in  the  streets  and  subdued 
even  in  the  restaurants.  Noise,  except  in  a  few  scattered  dis- 
tricts, was  unknown. 

It  was  a  remarkable,  spontaneous  testimony  to  the  prevalent 
spirit  throughout  the  city.  Mayor  Harrison  had  asked,  in  an 
official  proclamation,  that  there  be  no  noise,  but  few  of  those 
who  desisted  from  the  usual  practices  of  greeting  the  New 
Year  knew  that  they  had  been  requested  to  be  silent. 

MOURNING  IN  EVERY  STREET. 

There  were  mourning  families  in  every  neighborhood ;  crepe 
in  every  street;  grief  stricken  relatives  throughout  the  city; 
unidentified  dead  in  the  morgues,  and  sufferers  in  the  hospital. 
The  citizens  did  not  need  to  be  requested  to  be  quiet. 

1ST 


138  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

Jan.  I,  1904,  meant  the  beginning  of  funerals  and  the  burial 
of  dead  who  were  to  have  lived  to  take  part  in  merrymaking. 

A  year  before  in  downtown  Chicago  the  din  was  an  ear- 
splitting  racket  of  horns,  whistles,  yells,  songs,  and  exploding 
cannon. 

A  year  before  the  downtown  streets  were  filled  with  hun- 
dreds of  laughing  men  and  women,  roystering  parties  filling 
the  air  with  the  uproar  of  tin  horns  and  revolvers. 

NOISE  SEEMS  A  SACRILEGE. 

That  night  there  were  a  messenger  boy  in  La  Salle  street 
blowing  a  tin  horn  and  a  man  at  Wabash  avenue  and  Harri- 
son street.  The  other  pedestrians  looked  at  them  as  if  they 
considered  the  noise  a  sacrilege.  It  was  with  the  same  feeling 
that  they  heard  the  blowing  of  the  factory  whistles  in  the  few 
cases  where  the  engineers  forgot. 

A  year  before  the  outlying  districts  were  awakened  by  the 
firing  of  cannon  and  the  shouts  of  people  in  noisy  celebrations. 
That  dread  night  there  was  nothing  to  keep  residents  awake 
except  grief. 

MAYOR  ASKS  FOR  SILENCE. 

To  insure  this  condition,  as  the  only  fitting  one,  Mayor  Har- 
rison had  issued  a  proclamation  in  which  he  said : 

"On  each  recurring  New  Year's  eve  annoyance  has  been 
caused  the  sick  and  infirm  by  the  indulgence  of  thoughtless  per- 
sons in  noisy  celebrations  of  the  passage  of  the  old  year.  The 
city  authorities  have  at  all  times  discouraged  this  practice,  but 
now,  when  Chicago  lies  in  the  shadow  of  the  greatest  disaster 
in  her  history  for  a  generation,  noisemaking,  whether  by  bells, 
whistles,  cannon,  horns  or  any  other  means,  is  particularly  ob- 
icctionable. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  139 

"As  mayor  of  Chicago  I  would,  therefore,  request  all  per- 
sons to  refrain  from  this  indulgence,  and  I  would  particularly 
ask  all  railway  officials  and  all  persons  in  control  of  factories, 
boats,  and  mills  to  direct  their  employes  not  to  blow  whistles 
between  the  hours  of  12  and  I  o'clock  tonight." 

Persons  not  reached  by  this  proclamation  had  seen  the  lines 
waiting  entrance  at  the  morgues.  The  few  peddlers  who  had 
tin  horns  for  sale  found  no  buyers.  This  market,  which  in 
other  years  has  been  a  profitable  one,  on  Dec.  31,  1903,  was 
dead.  The  venders  slunk  up  to  the  building  walls  and,  even 
in  trying  to  sell,  made  little  noise  with  their  wares. 

MERRIMENT  IS  SUBDUED. 

In  such  restaurants  as  the  Auditorium  Annex,  the  Welljng- 
ton,  and  Rector's  there  were  gay  crowds,  but  the  merriment 
was  subdued.  "No  music"  was  the  general  rule  throughout 
the  city.  At  Rector's  the  management  took  down  flowers 
which  were  to  have  decorated  the  restaurant  and  sent  them  to 
the  hospitals  where  the  injured  theater  victims  were. 

At  the  Annex  and  the  Wellington  the  lobbies  had  been  filled 
with  gayly  decorated  tables,  and  this  space  as  well  as  the  cafes 
was  entirely  occupied.  Congress  street  was  filled  with  car- 
riages and  cabs  for  the  guests  at  the  Annex. 

CITY  OF  MOURNING. 

Even  these  gatherings,  which  were  the  least  affected  by  the 
gloom  over  the  city,  were  ghastly  as  compared  with  those  of 
former  years.  There  were  exceptions  to  the  general  rule,  but 
even  in  the  places  which  felt  the  effect  the  least  there  was 
abundant  testimony  to  the  fact  that  Chicago  was  a  city  of 
woe. 

The  aspect  of  the  downtown  district  was  evidence  that  there 


140  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

was  scarcely  a  neighborhood  in  the  city  which  had  not  at  least 
one  sorrowing  family. 

Not  only  was  this  indicated  by  the  lack  of  noise  on  the 
noisiest  night  of  the  year  but  by  the  absence  of  lights.  Many 
electric  signs  and  illuminations  which  usually  lighted  up  the 
streets  had  been  closed,  and  gay,  wicked,  noisy  Chicago  was 
clothed  with  gloom  such  as  it  had  never  before  known. 

Dark  and  solemn  as  was  the  opening  day  of  the  new  year  it 
was  no  circumstance  compared  with  the  day  that  followed.  At 
the  suggestion  of  the  mayor  Saturday,  Jan.  2,  was  set  apart  to 
bury  the  dead.  The  proclamation  issued  in  that  connection 
follows : 

"Chicago,  Dec.  31. — To  the  citizens  of  Chicago:  Announce- 
ment is  hereby  made  that  the  city  hall  will  be  closed  on  Satur- 
day, Jan.  2,  1904,  on  account  of  the  calamity  occurring  at  the 
Iroquois  theater.  All  business  houses  throughout  the  city  are 
respectfully  requested  to  shut  down  on  that  day. 

Respectfully, 
"CARTER  H.  HARRISON,  Mayor." 

The  request  was  generally  followed,  and  on  that  mournful 
day  the  irferment  of  the  victims  of  the  holocaust  began,  filling 
the  streets  with  processions  moving  to  the  grave.  From  day- 
break until  evening  funeral  corteges  moved  through  the  streets. 
Church  bells  at  noon  tolled  a  requiem.  The  machinery  of  bus- 
iness was  hushed  in  the  downtown  district,  and  long  lines  of 
carriages,  preceded  by  hearses  or  plain  black  wagons,  followed 
the  theater  victims  to  the  grave. 

In  no  public  place,  in  no  home  was  the  grief  of  the  bereft 
not  felt.  Many  of  the  dead  were  taken  directly  from  the  un- 
dertaking rooms  to  the  cemeteries  and  buried  with  simple  cere- 
mony. Before  dark  nearly  200  victims  were  borne  to  the 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  141 

grave.     A  score  were  taken  to  railroad  stations,  to  be  followed 
by  the  mourning  back  to  their  homes. 

BUSINESS  WORLD  IN  MOURNING, 

The  board  of  trade  closed  at  1 1  o'clock.  The  doors  of  the 
stock  exchange  were  not  opened.  Few  of  the  downtown  mer- 
cantile houses  and  few  of  the  offices  were  open  after  noon. 
There  was  little  business. 

It  was  a  day  of  mourning,  and  the  army  of  the  sorrowful 
that  for  days  had  searched  for  its  dead  performed  the  last 
rites.  At  noon  bells  in  all  the  church  towers  were  rung  to  the 
rhythm  of  "The  Dead  March  in  Saul."  Those  who  heard  the 
solemn  dirge  stood  still  for  the  space  of  five  minutes  with  bared 
heads.  The  proclamation  of  the  mayor  generally  was  ob- 
served. Everywhere  there  was  gloom  and  no  one  could  escape 
from  the  pall  that  enshrouded  Chicago. 

The  demand  for  hearses  was  so  great  that  the  undertakers 
were  compelled  to  make  up  schedules  in  which  the  different 
hours  of  the  day  were  allotted  to  the  grief-stricken. 

Flags  were  at  half-mast,  while  white  hearses  bearing  the 
bodies  of  children  and  black  hearses  with  the  bodies  of  others 
took  their  way  to  the  various  churches.  In  some  blocks  three 
and  four  hearses  were  standing,  and  at  the  churches  one  cor- 
tege would  wait  until  another  moved  away. 

The  pall  seemed  to  pervade  the  air  itself.  Pedestrians  halt- 
ed on  the  sidewalk,  and  in  the  cold  stood  with  bared  heads 
while  the  funeral  processions  passed. 

Children  saw  their  parents  laid  away;  parents  followed  the 
coffins  of  their  child.  Students  just  reaching  manhood  or 
womanhood  were  laid  at  rest,  while  relatives  and  companions 
mourned.  Kindly  clergymen  wept  as  they  spoke  words  of 


142 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER, 


comfort  to  those  bereft  of  father,  motker,  brother,  sister,  or 
even  of  all. 

Two  double  funerals  passed  through  the  downtown  districts 
just  as  the  department  stores  were  dismissing  their  thousands 
of  employes.  Sisters  were  being  taken  to  their  last  resting 
place,  and  this  cortege  was  followed  by  two  white  hearses  con- 
taining the  bodies  of  another  brother  and  sister.  Both  funeral 
processions  went  to  the  same  depot,  and  all  four  victims  were 
buried  in  the  same  cemetery. 

The  numerous  funeral  trains  which  left  Chicago  contained 
in  nearly  every  instance  more  than  one  coffin.  Hearse  after 
hearse  and  carriage  after  carriage  arrived  in  the  blinding  snow 
and  stopped  at  the  depots,  opening  an  epoch  of  funerals  that 
continued  daily  until  the  last  victim  was  laid  to  rest. 

Thus  opened  the  year  1904  in  Chicago,  the  stricken  and 
desolate. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A  SABBATH  OF  WOE. 

A  majority  of  the  victims  of  the  fire  were  laid  to  rest,  how- 
ever, during  the  Sabbath  succeeding  the  awful  calamity.  The 
main  thoroughfares  of  the  benumbed  city  leading  north  and 
west  toward  the  resting  places  of  the  dead  were  crowded  with 
funeral  processions,  sometimes  four  and  five  hearses  together 
showing  as  white  as  the  snow  on  the  ground,  bearing  as  they 
did  the  bodies  of  children. 

As  one  funeral  procession  after  another  passed  through  the 
streets  the  numbers  of  the  sorrowing  at  the  cemeteries  in- 
creased. A  few  hundred  feet  from  one  freshly  made  grave 
there  was  another  and  a  short  distance  away  still  another  that 
told  the  mourners  at  one  funeral  that  others  were  bereaved. 

The  work  of  burying  the  dead  began  early  in  the  morning 
and  lasted  until  late  in  the  evening.  Sometimes  the  homes  of 
several  of  the  dead  were  grouped  in  a  few  blocks  and  in  one  in- 
stance a  glance  down  a  single  street  would  reveal  the  thickly 
crowded  carriages  for  half  a  dozen  funerals  that  had  thrown 
an  entire  neighborhood  into  mourning.  Where  hearses  could 
not  be  furnished  they  wTere  improvised  from  other  kinds  of 
vehicles  and  mourners  who  could  not  get  cabs  rode  in  carriages. 
As  the  night  closed  down  on  hundreds  of  mourning  homes, 
in  every  cemetery  in  the  city  the  speaking  mounds  of  fresh 
earth  told  of  the  end  of  families  broken  and  altogether  de- 
stroyed. 

143 


144 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


SEVEN  TURNER  VICTIMS. 

More  than  a  thousand  turners  joined  in  the  services  for 
seven  victims  who  were  members  of  their  societies.  The 
Chicago  Turnbezirk,  the  central  body  of  the  turners,  had 
charge  of  the  exercises.  Representatives  of  the  Aurora  Turn- 
verein,  Schweitzer  Turnverein,  Forward  Turnverein,  Social 
Turnverein,  and  other  turner  organizations  joined  in  the  ser- 
vices. 

The  exercises  were  held  at  the  Social  Turner  hall,  Belmont 
avenue  and  Paulina  street.  The  coffins  of  the  victims  were 
placed  in  front  of  the  stage  at  the  end  of  the  hall.  After  the 
services  the  coffins  were  taken  by  uniformed  turners  through 
the  hall  to  black  wagons  and  the  march  to  Graceland  cemetery 
began.  Three  drum  corps,  with  muffled  drums,  beat  a  funeral 
march. 

Women  turners,  in  their  gymnasium  suits,  escorted  the 
bodies  of  the  women  victims,  and  uniformed  turners  watched 
the  coffins  of  the  men. 

Short  services  were  held  at  the  cemetery. 

SAD  SCENES  AT  WOLFF  HOME. 

At  the  residence  of  Ludwig  Wolff,  1329  Washington  boule- 
vard, the  bodies  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  William  M.  Garn  and 
her  three  children,  Willie,  n,  John,  7,  and  Harriet,  10  years 
old,  lay.  All  day  long  until  the  time  for  the  funeral  services  a 
stream  of  sympathizing  friends  poured  in.  A  crowd  of  more 
than  a  thousand  surrounded  the  house  and  the  policemen  sta- 
tioned there  were  compelled  to  force  a  way  for  the  caskets  when 
they  were  borne  to  the  hearses.  The  service  was  read  by  the 
Rev.  William  C.  Dewitt  of  St.  Andrew's  church.  Twelve  boys 
acted  as  pallbearers  for  their  former  playfellows  and  followed 
the  little  white  hearses  to  Graceland.  The  funeral  was  one  of 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  145 

the  largest  ever  seen  on  the  west  side  of  the  city,  more  than 
one  hundred  carriages  being  in  the  funeral  train. 

PATHETIC  SCENE  AT  CHURCH. 

Far  different  in  all  except  the  grief  was  the  funeral  from  the 
little  frame  church  at  Congress  street  and  Forty-second  avenue. 
Inside  lay  the  bodies  of  Mrs.  Mary  W.  Hoist  and  her  three 
children,  Allan,  13,  Gertrude,  10,  and  Amy,  8  years.  They 
were  in  the  ill  fated  second  balcony  of  the  theater  and  met 
death  trying  to  reach  the  fire  escape.  Of  the  family  only  the 
father  and  a  6  months  old  son  survive.  Mrs.  Hoist  was  the 
sister  of  former  Chief  of  Police  Badenoch.  Interment  was  at 
Forest  Home. 

The  building  was  still  gay  with  its  Christmas  decorations 
and  a  large  motto,  "Peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  men,"  which 
the  Hoist  children  had  assisted  in  making. 

BURY  CHILDREN  AND  GRANDCHILDREN. 
Another  quadruple  funeral  was  that  of  the  daughters  and 
the  grandchildren  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Beder  of  697  Ogden 
avenue.  The  two  women,  Mrs.  Edyth  Vallely,  835  Sawyer 
avenue,  and  Mrs.  Amy  Josephine  McKenna  of  758  South  Ked- 
zie  avenue,  went  to  the  theater  accompanied  by  their  two  chil- 
dren, Bernice  Vallely,  aged  n,  and  Bernard  McKenna,  aged 
3.  The  bodies  were  found  after  the  fire  by  the  husbands  of 
the  dead  women  at  the  morgues.  The  services  were  in  charge 
of  Rev.  D.  F.  Fox  of  the  California  Avenue  Congregational 
church.  Interment  was  at  Forest  Home. 

FIVE  DEAD  IN  ONE  HOUSE. 

Memorial  services  were  held  in  the  afternoon  for  Mrs.  Eva 
Pond,  wife  of  Fred  S.  Pond,  their  children,  Raymond,  14, 
Helen,  7,  and  Miss  Grace  Tuttle,  sister  of  Mrs.  Pond,  at  the 


146  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

. 

family  residence,  1272  Lyman  avenue.  The  services  were 
conducted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bowles  of  All  Saints'  Episcopal 
church. 

Miss  Tuttle  had  been  for  eighteen  years  a  teacher  in  the 
Chicago  public  schools.  She  attended  the  performance  at  the 
Iroquois  with  her  sister  and  her  sister's  children,  and  none  of 
them  emerged  alive.  Mrs.  Pond  was  the  wife  of  Fred  S. 
Pond,  for  thirty  years  cashier  of  the  Deering  Harvester 
Company,  who  is  the  only  survivor  of  a  once  happy  family 
circle.  The  four  bodies  were  taken  to  Beloit,  Wis.,  for  burial. 

ENTIRE  FAMILY  IS  BURIED. 

None  but  friends  attended  the  Beyer  funeral  service  during 
the  afternoon  at  Sheldon's  undertaking  rooms,  for  the  entire 
family,  mother,  father,  and  child,  were  numbered  among  the 
Iroquois  dead.  Otto  H.  Beyer,  his  wife  Minnie,  and  their  4 
year  old  daughter  Grace,  were  the  victims.  The  bodies  were 
taken  to  Elkader,  Iowa,  for  burial.  This  was  perhaps  the  sad- 
dest of  all  the  sad  services  conducted  during  the  day,  as  no 
relatives  were  present  to  mourn  the  dead. 

1 

MRS.  FOX  AND  THREE  CHILDREN. 
Mrs.  Emilie  Hoyt  Fox,  daughter  of  William  M.  Hoyt,  the 
wholesale  grocer;  George  Sidney  Fox,  her  1 5-year-old  son; 
Hoyt  Fox,  14  years  old,  and  Emilie  Fox,  9  years  old,  were 
all  buried  side  by  side  in  Graceland  cemetery.  The  funeral 
services  were  held  in  Graceland  chapel  and  were  conducted  by 
Rev.  Henry  G.  Moore  of  Christ  Episcopal  church,  Winnetka. 

MRS.  A.  E.  HULL  AND  CHILDREN. 
Simple  and  short  were  the  funeral  services  at  Boydston's 
chapel,  Forty-second  place  and  Cottage  Grove  avenue,  over  the 
remains  of  four  members  of  the  Hull  family.    Mrs.  Hull,  the 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  147 

mother,  was  the  wife  of  Arthur  E.  Hull,  244  Oakwood  boule- 
vard, and  attended  the  theater  with  her  little  daughter,  Helen, 
and  two  nephews,  adopted  sons,  Donald  and  Dwight.  The 
services  were  directed  by  Rev.  J.  H.  McDonald  of  the  Oakland 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  consisted  simply  of  a  prayer 
and  the  reading  of  a  poem  found  in  the  desk  of  Mrs.  Hull,  and 
which  had  evidently  been  clipped  from  some  newspaper.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  services  the  caskets  were  carried  to  the 
Thirty-ninth  street  station  of  the  Michigan  Central  railroad, 
over  which  they  were  taken  to  Troy,  N.  Y.,  for  burial. 

HERBERT  AND  AGNES  LANGE. 

"We  were  four  of  the  happiest  mortals  in  all  Chicago  until 
that  awful  thing  blasted  our  lives  forever,"  sobbed  Mrs.  Louis 
Lange  of  1632  Barry  avenue  at  the  close  of  the  funeral  of  her 
only  two  children,  Herbert  Lange,  17  years  old,  and  his  sister 
Agnes,  14.  The  service  was  held  at  the  Johannes  Evangelical 
Lutheran  church  at  Garfield  avenue  and  Mohawk  street. 

SWEETHEARTS  BURIED  AT  THE  SAME  TIME, 

While  the  last  rites  were  being  held  for  Albert  Alfson  in 
Chicago,  the  body  of  his  sweetheart,  Miss  Margaret  Love,  was 
being  buried  in  the  cemetery  at  Woodstock.  Two  hundred 
persons,  125  from  Woodstock,  attended  Alf son's  funeral  at  24 
Keith  street. 

FIVE  BURIED  IN  ONE  GRAVE. 

The  largest  funeral  at  Oakwoods  was  that  of  Dr.  M.  B. 
Rimes,  6331  Wentworth  avenue,  his  wife  and  three  children, 
Lloyd,  Martin,  and  Maurice.  The  five  from  one  family  were 
buried  together  in  one  large  grave. 


148  1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

BOYS  AS  PALLBEARERS. 

At  the  home  of  Ludwig  Wolff,  1329  Washington  boulevard 
the  body  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  William  M.  Garn,  and  her  three 
children,  Willie,  John  and  Harriet,  lay.  All  day  long  until 
the  time  for  the  funeral  services,  a  stream  of  sympathizing 
friends  poured  in,  bearing  many  floral  tributes  to  the  dead. 
The  impressive  service  of  the  Episcopal  church  was  read  by 
the  Rev.  William  C.  Dewitt  of  St.  Andrew's  church,  of  which 
Mrs.  Garn  was  a  member.  Twelve  boys  acted  as  pallbearers 
to  their  late  playfellows,  and  followed  the  little  white  hearses 
to  Graceland  cemetery.  The  funeral  was  one  of  the  largest 
ever  seen  on  the  West  Side,  more  than  one  hundred  carriages 
being  in  the  train.  » • 

WINNETKA  SADDENED. 

A  funeral  was  held  which  saddened  the  hearts  of  all  Win- 
netka.  The  little  north  shore  suburb  lost  eight  of  its  residents 
in  the  fire,  and  the  funeral  of  four  of  the  Fox  family  was  held 
yesterday.  The  services  were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Henry 
G.  Moore  of  Christ  Episcopal  church,  Winnetka. 

MOTHER  AND  DAUGHTERS  BURIED  TOGETHER. 

Three  hearses  carried  away  the  bodies  of  Mrs.  Louise  Ruby 
and  her  daughters,  Mrs.  Ida  Weimers  and  Mrs.  Mary  Feiser. 
The  services  were  held  at  the  late  home  of  Mrs.  Ruby,  "838 
Wilson  avenue.  Father  F.  N.  Perry  of  the  Church  of  Our 
Lady  of  Lourdes  celebrated  mass  for  the  two  daughters,  who 
were  members  of  his  parish.  The  Rev.  John  G.  Kircher  of 
Bethlehem  Evangelical  church  read  the  service  for  the  mother. 

HOLD  TRIPLE  FUNERAL. 

Triple  funeral  services  were  held  at  the  residence  of  Henry 
M.  Shabad,  4041  Indiana  avenue,  for  his  two  children.  Myrtle, 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  149 

aged  14  years,  and  Theodore,  aged  12  years,  and  little  Rose 
Elkan,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  N.  Elkan.  The  three  chil- 
dren attended  the  matinee  together  and  all  were  killed.  Rabbi 
Jacobson  of  the  Thirty-fifth  street  synagogue  conducted  the 
service  and  at  the  conclusion  referred  to  the  Iroquois  fire  as  one 
of  the  "greatest  calamities  of  the  age."  The  interment  took 
place  at  Waldheim. 

WOMEN  FAINT  IN  CHURCH. 

Attended  by  many  grief  stricken  schoolmates  and  friends, 
the  funeral  of  Robert  and  Archie  Hippach,  sons  of  Louis  A. 
and  Ida  S.  Hippach,  was  held  at  the  Church  of  the  Atonement, 
Kenmore  and  Ardmore  avenues.  They  lived  at  2928  Ken- 
more  avenue.  At  the  church  several  women  fainted  and  had 
to  be  taken  from  the  church. 

LIFE-LONG  FRIENDS  MEET  IN  DEATH. 

Miss  Viola  Delee  of  7822  Union  avenue,  and  Miss  Florence 
Corrigan  of  218  Dearborn  avenue,  victims  of  the  Iroquois 
theater  fire,  whose  remains  were  buried,  were  life-long  friends. 
They  were  schoolmates  at  St.  Xavier's  College,  where  both 
graduated  two  years  ago.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  fire  Miss 
Delee  had  arranged  to  meet  her  friend  downtown  and  attend 
the  matinee.  It  is  thought  they  secured  seats  on  the  main 
floor  about  eight  rows  from  the  front.  Their  bodies  were 
found  lying  some  distance  apart. 

The  body  of  Miss  Delee  showed  marks  that  must  have 
caused  her  excruciating  pain.  Her  face  was  badly  burned  and 
disfigured.  Miss  Corrigan  was  burned  almost  beyond  recog- 
nition. She  was  not  identified  until  after  the  identity  of 
Viola's  body  had  been  established  through  a  card  which  she 
carried  in  the  pocket  of  her  dress. 


150  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

The  funerals  of  two  friends  who  had  perished  together  in 
the  fire  met  in  Forest  Home  cemetery  when  Mrs.  Floy  Irene 
Olson  of  835  Walnut  street  and  Bessie  M.  Stafford  were  buried 
in  graves  not  thirty  feet  apart.  The  two  women  had  been  life- 
long friends  and  were  co-workers  in  the  Warren  Avenue  Con- 
gregational church.  Rev.  Frank  G.  Smith  conducted  the  serv- 
ices over  each  of  the  bodies. 

EDWARD  AND  MARGARET  DEE. 
Rev.  Father  Quinn  of  St.  James'  Roman  Catholic  church, 
conducted  the  obsequies  for  Edward  Mansfield  and  Margaret 
Louise  Dee,  the  children  of  William  Dee,  at  the  residence,  3133 
Wabash  avenue.     The  funeral  procession  was  the  largest  ever 
seen  on  the  south  side  for  children,  seventy-five  carriages  fol- 
lowing the  white  hearse  that  bore  the  two  white  caskets. 
MISS  E.  D.  MANN  AND  NIECE. 

Miss  Emma  D.  Mann,  supervisor  of  music  in  the  Chicago 
public  schools,  and  her  niece,  Olive  Squires,  14  years  old,  were 
buried  at  Rosehill  after  impressive  ceremonies  at  the  Centenary 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Miss  Mann  had  been  connected 
with  the  schools  of  the  city  for  many  years. 

ELLA  AND  EDYTH  FRECKLETON. 

The  funeral  services  over  the  remains  of  Ella  and  Edyth 
Freckleton,  daughters  of  William  J.  Freckleton,  5632  Peoria 
street,  were  conducted  by  Rev.  R.  Keene  Ryan  at  Boulevard 
hall,  Fifty-fifth  and  Halsted  streets.  More  than  2,000  persons 
were  in  the  hall  and  500  others  stood  in  the  street  for  hours 
waiting  for  the  funeral  cortege  to  pass  on  its  way  to  Oak- 
woods,  where  interment  was  made. 

MISS  FRANCES  LEHMAN. 

Hundreds  of  pupils  of  the  Nash  school,  Forty-ninth  avenue 
and  Ohio  street,  members  of  the  Ridgelaod  fire  department  and 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  i$r 

a  delegation  of  employes  of  the  Cicero  and  Proviso  Electric 
Street  railway  attended  the  funeral  services  over  the  remains 
of  Miss  Frances  Lehman,  at  the  residence  of  her  parents,  525 
North  Austin  avenue,  in  the  morning.  Rev.  Clayton  Youker, 
pastor  of  the  Euclid  Avenue  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  offi- 
ciating. Many  beautiful  floral  tributes  were  sent  by  the  teach- 
ers and  the  pupils  of  the  Nash  school. 

And  so  during  this  Sabbath  of  woe,  tragedies  of  life  and 
death  such  as  these,  but  far  too  numerous  to  be  all  recorded, 
were  being  enacted  in  all  parts  of  the  stricken  city.  Although 
nature  had  bestowed  upon  the  countless  mourners  a  day  bright 
and  clear,  their  spirits  were  dark  with  sorrow  and  for  years 
to  come  their  memories  will  revert  to  that  time  as  the  saddest 
of  their  lives ;  and  those  whose  dear  ones  were  not  among  the 
dead,  if  their  natures  were  blessed  with  any  sympathy  what- 
ever, were  oppressed,  as  never  before,  with  the  heavy  burden 
which  others  must  bear. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
WHAT  OF  THE  PLAYERS? 

Never  before  in  the  history  of  amusements  has  so  excellent 
an  opportunity  been  afforded  to  look  behind  the  scenes  of  the 
mimic  world  and  study  the  real  life  of  the  actor.  To  one  and 
all,  whether  religionist  unalterably  opposed  to  the  theater  and 
all  its  ramifications,  or  the  devotee  finding  life's  chiefest  pleas- 
ures contributed  by  musician  and  mummer,  the  stage  looms 
up  a  mystic  realm,  affording  more  interest  and  comment  than 
almost  any  other  department  of  earthly  effort. 

When  Shakespeare  wrote  "See  the  players  well  bestowed" 
in  his  immortal  masterpiece,  "Hamlet,"  the  term  player  meant 
something  very  different  from  what  it  does  today.  In  this 
day  and  age  it  is  not  only  the  poetic,  lofty-minded  and 
learned  tragedian  who  is  rightfully  accorded  the  title  "actor/' 
but  through  time-honored  custom  and  common  usage  the  spe- 
cialty performer,  slap-stick  comedian  and  the  interesting 
chorus  girl  are  recognized  as  members  of  the  "profession"; 
and  be  it  noted,  although  a  sad  commentary  on  the  stage,  they 
far  outnumber  those  of  the  old,  legitimate  school. 

So  it  is  that  in  dealing  with  the  player  folk,  to  whom  the 
terrifying  Iroquois  experience  was  but  an  incident  in  a  long 
career  of  vicissitudes  unknown  to  those  who  make  up  the  great 
commercial,  industrial  and  agricultural  world,  it  is  necessary 
to  consider  the  sleek,  well-groomed  executive  staff,  the  better- 
paid  and  more  widely-known  stellar  lights  of  the  "Mr.  Blue- 
beard" company,  the  less  distinguished  principals,  both  men 

152 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  153 

and  women,  the  struggling  chorus  boy,  the  saucy,  piquant 
and  greatly  envied  chorus  girl  and  a  small  army  of  unheard-of 
yet  equally  important  stage  mechanics. 

Upwards  of  150  persons — a  little  world  of  their  own — 
made  up  the  company  that  found  its  merry-making  tour 
brought  to  a  sudden  termination  by  a  blast  that  came  upon 
them  like  a  visitation  from  the  bottomless  pit.  What  they  en- 
dured, what  conditions  the  fatal  fire  imposed  upon  them,  will 
never  be  fully  known  or  appreciated.  Merry  minstrels  in 
name,  but  homeless,  purposeless  wanderers  in  fact,  the  dead 
sweep  of  the  elements  tore  asunder  their  little  universe  and 
left  them  stranded  and  more  purposeless  still,  practically  penni- 
less and  among  strangers,  overburdened  with  their  own  woes. 

With  such  an  organization  as  "Mr.  Bluebeard"  there  are  to 
be  found  two  or  three  fortunate  mortals,  whose  powers  to 
amuse  and  whose  popularity  with  the  amusement-loving  public 
place  their  salaries  at  a  figure  anywhere  between  $150  and 
$300  a  week.  In  this  particular  company  "Eddie  Foy,"  in 
private  life  Edward  Fitzgerald,  stood  out  preeminently  as 
such  a  player.  Then  came  more  than  a  score  of  principals 
whose  salaries  will  range  from  $60  to  $150  a  week,  depending 
entirely  upon  ability  and  the  extent  to  which  fortune  has 
favored  them  in  casting  the  various  parts,  as  the  characters 
are  known.  Next  in  order  are  the  less  important  people,  who 
play  "bits"  (very  unimportant  parts),  and  who  act  as  under- 
studies for  the  principals,  ready  to  replace  them  in  an  emer- 
gency. They  are  largely  graduates  from  the  chorus  or  com- 
parative novices  in  the  profession.  Their  compensation  may 
be  from  $30  to  $50  a  week,  according  to  beauty,  grace  and 
general  usefulness. 

All  have  their  railroad  fares  paid  and  their  baggage  trans- 


154  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

ported  at  the  expense  of  the  management.  They  are  required 
to  furnish  their  own  wardrobe,  however,  in  many  instances 
an  item  of  no  small  expense. 

THE  CHORUS  GIRL, 

And  then — the  chorus  girl !  No  living  creature  excites  such 
general  curiosity,  interest,  and  perhaps  admiration  and  envy,  as 
this  footlight  queen.  She  is  popularly  supposed  to  devote  her 
time  exclusively  to  delightful  promenades  with  susceptible 
"Johnnies"  in  the  millionaire  class,  automobile  rides,  after- 
the-show  wine  suppers  and  all  manner  and  form  of  unconven- 
tional and  soul-stirring  diversions  that  for  her  more  sedate 
and  useful  sister,  the  ordinary  American  girl,  would  mean 
to  be  ostracized  socially.  Hers  is  generally  regarded  as  a 
voluptuous  life  of  music,  mirth  and  color,  an  endless,  extrava- 
gant pursuit  of  pleasure. 

To  the  wide,  wide  world  her  triumphs  and  escapades  are 
heralded  by  newspaper,  press  agent,  and  the  callow  youth  of 
the  land,  who  regard  themselves  as  "real  sports"  and  clamor 
for  an  opportunity  to  provide  a  supper  for  one  of  the  chorus 
at  the  expense  of  going  without  cigarettes  for  the  rest  of 
the  month. 

Whoever  hears  of  the  little,  disorderly  bunk  of  a  room  the 
chorus  girl's  salary  provides  her  with  at  some  cheap  hotel; 
of  her  struggles  for  existence  during  the  months  she  is  out  of 
employment  almost  every  season;  of  the  glass  of  beer  and 
nibble  of  free  lunch  that  is  often  her  only  meal  during  the  long 
weeks  of  endless  rehearsal  that  precede  the  opening  of  the 
show,  when  absolutely  without  income  she  lives  on  her  scant 
savings,  what  she  can  borrow,  and  hope  and  anticipation  of 
what  is  in  store  when  the  tour  begins!  For  three  or  four 
weeks  she  rehearses  morning  and  afternoon  while  the  produc- 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  155 

tion  is  being  put  in  shape.  No  salaries  are  paid  during  that 
period,  and  it  is  a  particularly  soft-hearted  manager  who 
allows  the  girl  carfare.  Most  of  the  day  there  are  marches, 
dances  and  evolutions  to  be  gone  through  with  maddening 
monotony.  She  must  remain  on  her  feet,  for  chairs  are  few 
about  stages,  and  courtesy  scant  so  far  as  chorus  people  are 
concerned. 

And  at  night,  when  she  goes  home  worn  with  effort,  there 
are  songs  to  be  learned,  and  then  to  be  repeated  over  and  over 
again  in  chorus  the  next  day,  to  the  accompaniment  of  a  bat- 
tered and  expressionless  piano  shoved  into  the  brightest  spot 
on  the  gloomy  half-dark  stage,  or,  if  there  be  no  such  thing, 
placed  in  the  orchestra  pit,  where  the  musical  director  can 
enjoy  the  advantage  of  an  electric  light. 

i 

THE  MUSICAL  DIRECTOR. 

The  musical  director!  What  an  autocrat  he  is!  His  rules 
are  arbitrary  and  irrevocable.  His  criticism  stings  and  burns. 
He  is  tired,  overworked  and  under  the  strain  of  responsibility 
for  the  successful  development  of  the  aggregation  of  young 
men  and  women  who  confront  him,  and  who  appear  to  him 
weighted  down  with  all  the  stupidity  naturally  intended  for 
distribution  among  a  vastly  larger  number  of  individuals. 
He  swears,  raves,  coaxes  as  his  moods  change.  He  weeds  out 
one  here  and  engages  a  new  member  there.  And  with  every 
change  the  difficulties  increase.  The  tunes  that  seem  so  inspir- 
ing when  heard  from  the  comfort  of  a  parquet  seat  grow 
dreary  to  those  who  are  living  with  them  hourly  during  this 
period.  The  "catchy"  songs  become  so  much  hateful  drivel 
and  maddening  nonsense,  when  done  over  and  over  again  to 
the  inspiring  declaration  of  the  half-crazed  director  that  "the 


156  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

whole  bunch  ought  to  go  back  to  the  farm,  back  to  the  dish- 
pan." 

It  is  a  tired,  world-worn,  weary  creature  that  creeps  away 
after  such  a  rehearsal — a  woman  who  would  be  hard  to  recog- 
nize as  the  sprightly,  dashing  blonde  in  blue  tights,  who  tosses 
her  head  saucily  in  the  third  act  and  sets  the  hearts  of  the 
youth  of  the  one-night-stands  aflame  a  few  weeks  later. 

THE  JOY  OF  THE  OPENING. 

At  last  the  chaos  and  confusion  end,  the  great  mass  of  de- 
tail is  blended  into  a  production  and  the  stage  manager  begins 
his  term  of  storming  and  fussing.  The  dress  rehearsal  is 
called,  the  shimmering  silken  costumes  are  donned  and  all 
hands  are  agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  there  really  is  a 
plot  to  the  piece  and  some  rhyme  and  reason  behind  the  efforts 
of  the  few  preceding  weeks'  labor.  The  opening  is  at  hand. 

What  joy  it  brings  to  all,  both  those  of  high  and  low  de- 
gree. Brave  costumes,  light,  color  and  a  mellow  orchestra, 
in  place  of  the  old  tin-pan  of  a  piano,  work  great  changes  in 
their  spirits.  And  best  of  all — salaries  begin.  To  the  chorus 
girl  it  means  from  $18  to  $25  a  week,  and  if  she  be  particu- 
larly clever  perhaps  a  little  more.  That  is  hers,  free  from 
all  charges  for  transportation,  baggage  delivery  or  the  fur- 
nishing or  maintenance  of  wardrobe.  She  must  furnish  her 
own  "make-up"  of  paints,  powder  and  cosmetics,  to  be  sure, 
and  of  this  she  uses  no  small  amount;  but  that  is  a  minor  ex- 
pense. 

The  opening  over,  the  critics  of  the  press  either  praise  or 
flay  the  production — something  that  means  much  in  determin- 
ing what  its  future  will  be.  For  a  few  weeks,  possibly  a 
month  or  two,  it  remains  the  attraction  at  the  theater  where 
it  had  its  birth.  Conditions  become  pleasanter,  yet  a  vast 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  157 

amount  of  rehearsing  continues  in  order  to  bring  about  im- 
provement or  make  changes  in  the  personnel  of  the  company. 
Every  time  a  girl  drops  out,  voluntarily  or  otherwise,  her  suc- 
cessor must  be  put  through  the  ropes  in  order  to  be  able  to 
replace  her.  That  means  all  those  in  the  same  scenes  must 
go  through  the  dreary  details  again.  In  fact,  from  the  time 
such  a  show  opens  until  it  closes  rehearsals  never  really  cease, 
the  causes  necessitating  them  being  almost  without  number. 

SPENDTHRIFT  HABITS. 

During  the  "run"  in  the  opening  house  the  chorus  girl  has 
a  chance  to  live  at  comparatively  small  expense.  She  may 
pay  off  her  small  debts,  if  she  is  troubled  with  a  conscience. 
What  is  far  more  important,  she  can  replenish  her  threadbare 
street  wardrobe,  for  it  is  an  unwritten  managerial  law  that  all 
stage  people  must  dress  well  both  on  and  off  the  stage.  So 
when  the  "run"  terminates  and  the  road  tour  begins,  nearly 
all  the  company  are  pretty  short  financially,  although  they 
may  be  even  with  the  world  if  they  are  particularly  fortunate. 
All  actors  are  naturally  "spenders."  Their  mode  of  life  com- 
pels it.  With  few  family  ties,  the  majority  without  a  home, 
their  every  expense  is  double  that  of  the  every-day  sort  of  a 
man.  Their  meeting  place  and  their  lounging  place,  whether 
it  be  for  business  or  social  reasons,  is  necessarily  the  hotel  or 
the  bar.  Under  those  conditions  it  would  be  difficult  for  the 
most  conservative  to  cultivate  frugality  or  economy.  And 
actors  have  never  been  known  to  injure  themselves  in  an  effort 
to  attain  either  unless  under  stress  of  temporary  compulsion. 

GAMBLING,  PURE  AND  SIMPLE. 

Perhaps  the  show  has  made  a  "hit."  Perhaps  not.  One 
can  never  tell  in  advance,  for  it  is  gambling,  pure  and  simple,  so 


158  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

the  oldest  managers  openly  assert.  If  it  proves  a  failure  all 
the  capital,  labor  and  trouble  has  been  thrown  away  like  a 
flash  in  the  pan.  The  actors  arrive  some  night  to  find  the 
house  dark,  the  box-office  receipts,  scenery  and  properties 
seized  on  an  attachment,  and  their  salaries  and  prospects  gone 
What  happens  then  with  weeks,  possibly  months,  of  idleness 
ahead  of  them,  can  be  better  imagined  than  described.  Some- 
how, the  people  struggle  through  and  survive  and  bob  up  to 
face  the  same  experience  again.  It  is  hard  enfeugh  on  the 

^* 

principals  with  good  salaries  and  friends  purchased  through 
profligate  expenditure  of  their  money  when  all  was  sunshine 
and  prosperity,  but  it  is  a  worse  blow  to  the  chorus.  Yet 
they  pass  through  seemingly  unscathed.  They  are  used  to 
it  and  know  how. 

But  this  is  a  dreary  side  of  the  picture,  and  all  productions 
are  by  no  means  doomed  to  flunk;  those  that  do  not  go  forth 
upon  the  road  with  a  flourish  of  trumpets,  the  glitter  and 
glamor  of  carloads  of  courts  and  palaces  of  canvas,  tinsel  and 
papier-mache  and  with  everyone  looking  forward  to  the 
rapid  acquirement  of  a  fortune.  Verily,  your  actor  is  a  born 
optimist.  Were  it  not  for  ambition,  hope,  egotism  and  in- 
herent love  of  publicity,  notoriety  and  admiration,  where 
would  the  stage  get  its  recruits  ? 

THE  SHOW  ON  THE  ROAD. 

After  the  production  has  taken  to  the  road  it  may  still  prove 
a  "frost" — the  theatrical  term  for  failure.  Then  it  is  the 
same  grim  story,  with  additional  discouragements.  There  are 
cold,  clammy  hotelkeepers  whose  one  anxiety  is  to  see  their 
bills  paid,  and  commercially  inclined  railroads  who  will  trans- 
port none,  not  even  actors,  without  payment  in  something 
more  tangible  than  promises.  Then  comes  the  benefit  perform- 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  159 

ance,  the  appeal  to  local  lodges  of  orders  the  actors  may  be 
identified  with  and  the  mad  scramble  to  induce  the  railroad 
to  carry  the  people  home  "on  their  trunks."  If  they 
can  get  their  baggage  out  of  the  hotels  the  per- 
formers usually  find  it  possible  to  secure  transporta- 
tion by  leaving  their  trunks  with  the  railroads  as 
a  pawn  to  be  released  when  they  raise  money  enough  to  settle 
the  bill.  Surely  a  pleasant  prospect — to  go  "home"  penniless 
and  without  personal  effects,  clothing  or  even  prospects. 

And  all  this  time  where  is  the  manager?  He  may  have  fled 
in  desperation  with  the  few  dollars  that  came  into  his  hands  the 
preceding  night,  or  he  may  be  shut  up  in  his  room  worse  off 
than  his  employes.  It  all  depends  upon  circumstances. 

All  shows  do  not  meet  disaster  on  the  road,  however.  Yet 
there  is  always  the  distressing  possibility  to  confront  the 
actor.  Many  go  on  their  glad,  successful  way,  for  a  time,  like 
"Mr.  Bluebeard,"  piling  up  profits  and  bringing  joy  to  the 
hearts  of  managers  and  owners  and  continued  employment  to 
the  players.  Yet  even  then  all  is  not  as  roseate  as  might  be 
thought  from  a  casual  glance  taken  from  the  front.  There  are 
epidemics,  railroad  accidents,  hotel  fires  and  all  manner  of 
emergencies  to  be  considered,  not  to  speak  of  the  one-night 
stand. 

THE  ONE-NIGHT  STAND. 

Of  all  the  terrors  the  actor  faces  the  one-night  stand  is  the 
worst.  That  is  the  technical  name  applied  to  the  city  or  town 
where  the  company  lights  for  a  single  performance  as  it  flits 
across  the  continent.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  so  route  an 
attraction  that  its  time  will  be  placed  exclusively  in  large 
cities,  so  they  fall  back  on  the  one-night  stand.  Imagine  the 
joy  of  leaving  Chicago  Sunday  morning,  playing  at  South 


160  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

Chicago  Sunday  afternoon  and  evening1,  taking  a  train  after 
the  performance  and  jogging  into  Michigan  City,  Ind.,  with 
the  early  dawn,  catching  a  bit  of  sleep  during  the  day,  playing 
at  night  and  skipping  out  for  Logansport.  With  the  same 
programme  at  Logansport,  Fort  Wayne,  Richmond,  and  Lima, 
Mansfield  or  Dayton,  Ohio,  the  company  is  within  striking- 
distance  of  Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Louisville  or  Indianapolis, 
as  its  bookings  may  elect.  And  that  is  precisely  what  they 
all  do.  This  is  a  sample  week.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing 
for  a  big  attraction  to  cover  two  or  three  weeks  of  unbroken 
one-night  stands,  and  those  going  to  and  from  the  Pacific 
coast  are  often  compelled  to  play  four  and  five,  without  the 
friendly  relief  of  an  engagement  covering  a  week. 

Truly  life  under  these  circumstances  is  a  horror.  Train- 
worn,  broken  in  rest,  with  scarcely  opportunity  to  unpack  to 
change  their  linen,  such  weeks  mean  to  the  performer  an  ex- 
istence not  calculated  to  tempt  recruits  to  the  profession.  To 
the  principal,  stopping  at  the  best  hotels  and  making  use  of 
sleeping  cars  whenever  possible,  it  is  wearing  enough  and  a 
burden.  To  the  chorus  girl,  it  is  a  hideous  nightmare.  Out 
of  her  meager  salary  she  must  pay  during  such  weeks  from 
$1.25  to  $1.75  a  day  for  hotel  accommodations  that  are  far 
from  tempting.  She  is  driven  to  resort  to  sleepers  through 
self-preservation  at  an  average  of  $2  a  night  for  long  night 
trips,  and  her  laundry  and  other  incidental  expenses  mount 
up  into  startling  figures.  Her  clothing  is  ruined  by  almost 
ceaseless  crushing  aboard  trains,  and  unless  she  be  thoroughly 
broken  to  such  a  life  she  is  wrecked  physically. 

When  she  reaches  a  big  city  again  she  can  once  more 
creep  to  bed  after  her  work  at  midnight  and  find  in  unbroken 
hours  of  sleep  balm  for  all  she  has  passed  through.  She  may 
secure  a  decent  room  at  a  second  or  third  class  European  hotel 


AMBULANCE  LOADED  WITH  FIRE  VICTIMS. 


AT?OH  AT  TOI*  OF  STAIRWAY   1'ACKKP    WITH  DEAD. 


CARRYING  OUT  SOME  DEAD,  SOME   STILL  LIVING. 


FIUKMKN  CARRYING  OUT  THE  DEAD  CHILDREN. 


HEROIC  RESCUE  OF  THE  LIVING  BY   CHICAGO    b'IREMEN. 


SCENE  IN   DEATH  ALLEY— REAR  OF   TIIK  THEATER. 


CARRYING  DEAD  BODIES  FROM  SECOND  BALCONY. 


MISS   NELLIE   REED, 
Leader  of  the  Flying  Ballet,  killed  by  the  tire. 


FIREMEN  HELPING  THE  CHORUS  GIRLS  OUT  OF  THE  THEATER. 


PHOTOGRAPH  OF  THE  8TAGE  OF  THE   THEATER  IN  RUINS. 


c_ 

y. 


c 

r- 
X 

o 


c 
w 


tft 

t: 
C 
O 


W 

K 


t 


X 

o 


X 

o 


o 

-H 

O 

*_ 

E- 

<; 

5 


o 

oc 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  177 

for  $6  a  week  and  buy  her  meals  where  she  chooses.  If  some 
callow  youth  buys  them  for  her  in  consideration  of  the  pleasure 
of  basking  in  her  smiles,  she  is  that  much  ahead.  She  can 
live  within  her  means  in  the  city  and  save  money — if  she  wants 
to-  But  she  seldom  does,  and  no  one  can  blame  her,  for  she 
feels  that  nothing  save  the  pleasures  secured  by  extravagance 
can  compensate  her  for  what  she  has  lost — comfort,  repose, 
dignity,  social  recognition,  and,  most  of  all,  home. 

These  same  conditions  are  experienced  to  a  varying  degree 
by  all  players  save  those  within  the  sacred  circle  drawn  by  the 
ringer  of  phenomenal  success.  That  small  handful  with  pri- 
vate cars,  lackies  and  all  the  comforts  of  a  portable  home,  is  so 
insignificant  in  number  that  it  requires  no  consideration  here. 

THE  "MR.  BLUEBEARD"  COMPANY. 

In  the  best  and  most  prosperous  organizations,  such  as  "Mr. 
Bluebeard"  was,  life  is  not  all  sunshine  and  roses.  To  be  true, 
its  members  escaped  the  manifold  terrors  of  playing  in  the 
barns  to  be  found  in  many  large  one-night  stands  and  dressing 
in  their  stalls,  dignified  by  the  term  dressing-rooms.  The 
women  were  not  compelled  to  dress  and  undress  behind  inclos- 
ures  made  of  flimsy  scenery  with  a  sheet  thrown  over  for  addi- 
tional protection.  Nor  did  they  have  to  live  in  the  barn-like 
hotels  many  such  towns  boast.  But  they  had  their  own  trou- 
bles, such  as  they  were.  The  chorus  girls  did  not  escape  hav- 
ing to  be  thrown  into  involuntary  contact  with  all  classes  and 
conditions  of  mankind,  nor  did  they  avoid  the  sharp  social  dis- 
tinction drawn  by  the  p/incipals  in  all  organizations. 

Only  a  few  weeks  before  the  Iroquois  horror  they  passed 
through  a  serious  fire  scare  in  the  theater  where  they  were 
playing  in  Cleveland,  an  experience  that  for  the  moment  prom- 
ised to  rival  the  one  that  finally  overtook  them.  Flames  in 


178  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

the  scenery  endangered  their  lives,  but  the  fire  was  extin- 
guished. Therefore  the  incident  "amounted  to  nothing"  and 
little  or  nothing  was  heard  about  it. 

When  the  dread  hour  arrived  at  the  Iroquois,  the  majority 
lost  their  all.  It  was  not  to  be  expected  they  would  leave 
their  jewelry  and  money  about  hotels  of  which  they  knew 
little.  Quite  naturally,  they  took  both  to  their  dressing-rooms. 
Many  were  on  the  stage  when  the  cry  of  fire  came,  and  were 
fortunate  to  escape  with  their  lives,  without  thought  of  cloth- 
ing, money  or  jewelry,  all  of  which  were  swept  away.  With 
employment,  valuables,  everything  gone  save  their  hotel  bag- 
gage, they  were  in  a  sorry  plight,  indeed.  But  with  the  opti- 
mism that  only  the  actor  knows  they  rejoiced  in  their  escape 
from  the  fate  that  overtook  little  Nellie  Reed  and  from  the 
terrible  scars  and  burns  suffered  by  many  of  their  number. 

A  score  of  their  number  were  under  arrest,  held  as  wit- 
nesses, men  and  women  alike.  The  management  came  to  their 
relief  to  the  extent  of  furnishing  bonds  that  secured  their 
temporary  release.  Klaw  and  Erlanger  also  furnished  trans- 
portation back  to  New  York  for  such  as  were  at  liberty  to  go. 
Then  another  obstacle  arose.  Few  had  the  means  to  settle 
their  hotel  bills,  and  the  proprietors  of  the  places  would  not 
release  their  baggage.  At  this  juncture  relief  came  from  out- 
side sources.  Mrs.  Ogden  Armour  provided  for  the  chorus 
girls,  contributing  $500  to  settle  their  bills.  That  night  over 
a  hundred  of  the  players  were  headed  back  to  the  great  metrop- 
olis they  call  home,  to  seek  new  engagements,  and  if  unsuc- 
cessful, to  do  the  best  they  could.  And  the  majority  started 
with  certain  failure  staring  them  in  the  face. 

It  was  on  Sunday,  January  3,  1904,  four  days  after  the  fire, 
that  the  members  of  the  "Mr.  Bluebeard"  company  turned 
their  faces  homeward,  for  to  all  players  New  York  is  "home." 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  179 

Just  before  the  train  started  a  plain  white  box  was  put  on  board 
the  baggage  car.  It  contained  all  that  was  mortal  of  Nellie 
Reed,  the  sprightly  little  girl  who  had  delighted  scores  of 
thousands  by  her  mid-air  flights  from  the  stage  at  each  per- 
formance. 

It  was  her  last  railroad  "jump."  Poor  little  thing,  still  in 
her  early  teens,  she  closed  her  earthly  career  with  the  close  of 
the  show,  and  went  back  "home"  with  it !  If  the  future  has  for 
her  any  further  flights  they  will  be  of  celestial  character,  and  not 
through  the  agency  of  an  invisible  wire  such  as  guided  her 
above  the  heads  of  Iroquois  theater  audiences  and  which  was 
at  first  thought  to  have  interfered  with  the  fall  of  the  curtain 
and  to  have  been  directly  responsible  for  the  appalling  holo- 
caust. 

It  was  a  sad  departure.  Nearly  150  persons  comprised  the 
"Mr.  Bluebeard"  party,  and  nearly  as  many  more  took  the 
trip  from  "The  Billionaire"  company,  also  owned  by  the  same 
management.  Only  a  day  or  two  before  the  fire  that  closed 
the  "Bluebeard"  show  death  had  laid  its  hand  heavily  upon 
"The  Billionaire,"  playing  at  the  Illinois  theater  only  a  few 
blocks  distant.  "The  Billionaire"  himself  died — big,  rollick- 
ing Jerome  Sykes,  who  made  famous  the  part  "Foxy  Quiller" 
and  the  opera  of  that  name  and  who  a  few  years  ago  made  such 
a  hit  as  the  fat  boy  in  "An  American  Beauty"  that  he  outshone 
Lillian  Russell,  its  star.  Sykes  contracted  a  cold  at  a  Christ- 
mas celebration  for  the  members  of  the  two  companies  and 
when  he  died  the  production  died  with  him. 

So  with  the  Iroquois  catastrophe  there  were  two  big,  ob- 
viously successful,  companies  wiped  out  of  the  theatrical  world 
at  one  blew  and  without  notice.  The  members  of  each  had 
half  a  week's  salary  due;  that  was  their  all.  It  was  promptly 
paid  and  with  that  and  their  tickets  all  set  forth  in  the  happy 


i8o  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

possession  of  their  baggage,  many  through  the  charity  of  Mrs. 
Armour. 

All — not  quite !  There  were  two  members  of  "The  Billion- 
aire" who  did  not  make  the  last  "jump,"  two  who  were  in  the 
audience  at  the  Iroquois  and  perished  in  the  maelstrom  of 
flame  and  smoke.  The  curtain  had  been  rung  down  for  them 
forever.  They,  at  least,  would  know  no  more  of  pitiful  quests 
for  engagements,  of  wearying  rehearsal  and  momentary, 
superficial  conquest.  They  had  played  their  last  stand. 

"This  is  the  saddest  day  of  my  life,"  declared  one  of  the 
chorus  members  in  the  presence  of  the  writer.  "Here  I  am, 
1,000  miles  from  home,  no  prospects  of  another  engagement 
this  season,  and  only  $5  in  the  world." 

"I  have  less  than  you,"  said  a  frail  appearing  girl,  with 
tears  in  her  eyes.  "I  lost  my  savings,  $22,  in  the  fire,  and  I 
have  only  $3  to  go  home  with." 

"It  it  the  life  of  the  stage,"  said  a  matronly  wardrobe  woman. 
"The  poor  girls  are  penniless,  and  if  the  injured  were  left 
hind  it  would  be  as  charity  patients.  The  responsibility  of 
the  managers  of  the  show  ceases  when  the  production  is 
closed.  I  know  many  of  these  girls  are  without  sufficient 
money  to  pay  for  a  week's  lodging,  and  it  is  a  sad  outlook 
for  some  of  them  this  winter." 

And  the  wardrobe  woman  told  the  truth — it  was  merely  a 
striking  example,  a  pitiful  vicissitude  of  "the  life  of  the 
stage." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
OTHER  HOLOCAUSTS. 

Since  the  time  that  civilized  man  first  met  with  fellow  man 
to  enjoy  the  work  of  the  primitive  playwright,  humanity  hag 
paid  a  toll  of  human  life  for  its  amusements.  Oftener  than 
history  tells  the  tiny  flicker  of  a  tongue  of  flame  has  thrown 
a  gay,  laughing  audience  into  a  wild,  struggling  mob,  and 
instead  of  the  curtain  which  would  have  been  rung  down  on 
the  comedy  on  the  stage,  a  pall  of  black  smoke  covered  the 
struggles  of  the  living  and  dying. 

Of  all  the  theater  disasters  of  history,  none  ever  occurred 
in  America  equaling  the  loss  of  life  in  the  Iroquois  fire. 
Only  two  in  the  history  of  the  civilized  world  surpass  it.  There 
have  been  fires  accompanied  by  greater  loss  of  life,  but  not 
among  theater  audiences. 

But  the  grand  total  of  persons  killed  in  theater  holocausts 
is  large  and  the  saddest  comment  on  this  list  is  that  most  of 
the  victims  were  from  holiday  audiences  of  women  and  chil- 
dren. Lehman's  playhouse  in  St.  Petersburg,  Russia,  was 
destroyed  in  Christmas  week,  1836,  and  70x5  persons  lost  their 
lives.  The  Ring  theater,  Vienna,  Austria,  was  destroyed  Dec. 
8,  1 88 1,  and  875  persons  lost  their  lives.  These  are  the  only 
theater  holocausts  whose  deadliness  surpasses  that  of  the  Iro- 
quois. 

To  all  have  been  the  same  accompaniments  of  panic,  futile 
smuggle  and  suffocation.  In  the  last  century  with  the  intro- 
duction of  the  modern  style  of  playhouse,  these  fatal  fires  have 

181 


182  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

increased.  The  annals  of  the  stage  are  replete  with  dark  pages 
that  cause  the  tragedy  of  the  mimic  drama  depicted  behind  the 
footlights  to  pale  and  shrivel  into  comparative  nothingness. 

Perhaps  it  is  a  fatal  legacy  from  the  time  when  civilized 
society  gathered  in  its  marble  coliseums  and  amphitheaters  to 
witness  the  mortal  combats  of  human  soldiers  or  the  death 
struggles  of  Christians  waging  a  vain  battle  against  famished 
wild  beasts.  Whatever  it  may  be,  death  has  always  stalked  as 
the  dread  companion  of  the  god  of  the  muse  and  drama. 

An  English  statistician  published  six  years  ago  a  list  of  fires 
at  places  of  public  entertainment  in  all  countries  in  the  preced- 
ing century.  He  showed  that  there  had  been  1,100  conflagra- 
tion?, with  10,000  fatalities,  and  he  apologized  for  the  incom- 
pleteness of  his  figures.  Another  authority  says  that  in  the 
twelve  years  from  1876  to  1888  not  less  than  1,700  were  killed 
in  theater  disasters  in  Brooklyn,  Nice,  Vienna,  Paris,  Exeter 
and  Oporto,  and  that  in  every  case  nearly  all  the  victims  were 
dead  within  ten  minutes  from  the  time  the  smoke  and  flame 
from  the  stage  reached  the  auditorium.  As  in  the  Iroquois 
fire,  it  was  mainly  in  the  balconies  and  galleries  that  death 
held  its  revels. 

Fire  wrought  havoc  at  Rome  in  the  Amphitheater  in  the  year 
14  B.  C.,  and  the  Circus  Maximus  was  similarly  destroyed 
three  times  in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era.  Three 
other  theaters  were  razed  by  flames  in  the  same  period,  and 
Porfipeii's  was  burned  again  almost  two  centuries  later,  but  the 
exact  loss  of  life  is  not  recorded  in  either  instance.  The  Greek 
playhouses,  built  of  stone  in  open  spaces,  were  never  endan- 
gered by  fire. 

No  theaters  were  built  on  the  modern  plan  until  in  the 
sixteenth  century  in  France,  and  not  until  the  seventeenth  did 
any  catastrophe  worthy  of  record  occur.  When  Shakespeare 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  183 

lived  plays  were  generally  produced  in  temporary  structures, 
sometimes  merely  raised  platforms  in  open  squares,  and  it 
was  after  his  time  that  scenic  effects  began  to  be  amplified  and 
the  use  of  illuminants  increased.  Thus  it  was  that  dangers, 
both  2o  players  and  auditors,  were  vastly  increased. 

'n  the  Teatro  Atarazanas,  in  Seville,  Spain,  many  people 
<v«5r£  killed  and  injured  at  a  fire  in  1615.  The  first  conflagra- 
tion of  this  kind  in  England  worth  noting  happened  in  1672, 
when  the  Theater  Royal,  or  Drury  Lane,  standing  on  the  site 
of  the  playhouse  in  which  "Mr.  Bluebeard"  was  produced  be- 
fore it  was  brought  to  Chicago,  was  burned  to  the  ground. 
Sixty  other  buildings  were  destroyed,  but  no  loss  of  life  is 
recorded. 

Two  hundred  and  ten  people  lost  their  lives  and  the  whole 
Castle  of  Amalienborg,  in  Copenhagen,  was  laid  in  ashes  in 
1689  from  a  rocket  that  ignited  the  scenery  in  the  opera  house. 
Eighteen  persons  perished  at  the  theater  in  the  Kaizersgracht, 
Amsterdam,  in  1772,  and  six  years  later  the  Teatro  Colisseo, 
at  Saragossa,  Spain,  went  up  in  flames  and  seventy-seven 
lives  were  lost.  The  governor  of  the  province  was  among  the 
victims.  Twenty  players  were  suffocated  in  the  burning  of  the 
Palais  Royal  in  Paris  in  1781. 

In  the  nineteenth  century  there  were  twelve  theater  fires 
marked  by  great  loss  of  life,  and  the  first  of  these  occurred  in 
the  United  States.  At  Richmond,  on  the  day  after  Christmas 
in  1811,  a  benefit  performance  of  "Agnes  and  Raymond,  or 
the  Bleeding  Nun,"  was  being  given,  and  the  theater  was 
filled  with  a  wealthy  and  fashionable  audience.  The  governor 
of  Virginia,  George  W.  Smith,  ex-United  States  Senator  Ven- 
able,  and  other  prominent  persons  were  in  the  audience  and 
were  numbered  among  the  seventy  victims.  The  last  act  was 
on  when  the  careless  hoisting  of  a  stage  chandelier  with  lighted 


184  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

candles  set  fire  to  the  scenery.  Most  of  those  killed  met  death 
in  the  jam  at  the  doors. 

The  Lehman  Theater  and  circus  in  St.  Petersburg  was  the 
scene  of  a  fire  in  1836,  in  which  800  people  perished.  A  stage 
lamp  hung  high  ignited  the  roof,  a  panic  ensued,  and  there 
was  such  a  mad  rush  that  most  of  the  people  slew  each  other 
trying  to  get  out.  Those  not  trampled  to  death  were  inciner- 
ated by  the  fire  that  rapidly  enveloped  the  temporary  wooden 
building. 

A  lighted  lamp,  upset  in  a  wing,  caused  a  stampede  in  the 
Royal  Theater,  Quebec,  June  12,  1846,  and  100  people  were 
either  burned  or  crushed  into  lifelessness.  The  exits  were  poor 
and  the  playhouse  was  built  of  combustible  material.  Less  than 
a  year  later  the  Grand  Ducal  Theater  at  Carlsruhe,  Baden,  Ger- 
many, was  destroyed  by  a  fire,  due  to  the  careless  lighting  of 
the  gas  in  the  grand  ducal  box.  Most  of  the  150  victims 
were  suffocated.  Between  fifty  and  one  hundred  people  met  a 
fiery  death  in  the  Teatro  degli  Aquidotti  at  Leghorn,  Italy, 
June  7,  1857.  Fireworks  were  being  used  on  the  stage  and  a 
rocket  set  fire  to  flie  scenery. 

One  of  the  most  serious  fires  from  the  standpoint  of  loss  of 
life  was  that  in  the  Jesuit  church  of  Santiago,  South  America, 
in  1863.  Fire  broke  out  in  the  building  during  service.  A 
panic  started  and  the  efforts  of  the  priests  to  calm  the  immense 
crowd  and  lead  them  quietly  from  the  edifice  were  vain.  The 
few  doors  became  jammed  with  a  struggling  mass  of  men, 
women  and  .children.  The  next  day  2,000  bodies  were  taken 
from  the  church,  most  of  them  suffiocated  or  trampled  to 
death. 

The  Brooklyn  theater  fire  was  long  memorable  in  this  coun- 
try. Songs,  funeral  marches  and  poems  without  number  were 
written  commemorating  the  sad  event.  Vastly  different  from 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  185 

the  Iroquois  horror,  most  of  the  victims  of  the  Brooklyn  the- 
ater were  burned  beyond  recognition.  At  Greenwood  cemetery 
in  Brooklyn  there  now  stands  a  marble  shaft  to  the  unidentified 
victims  of  the  holocaust. 

Kate  Claxton  was  playing  "The  Two  Orphans"  at  Con- 
way's  Theater  in  Brooklyn  on  the  night  of  Dec.  5,  1876.  In 
the  last  scene  of  the  last  act  Miss  Claxton,  as  Louise,  the  poor 
blind  girl,  had  just  lain  down  on  her  pallet  distraw,  when 
she  saw  above  her  in  the  flies  a  tiny  flame.  An  actor  of  the 
name  of  Murdoch,  on  the  stage  with  her,  saw  it  about  the 
same  time,  and  was  so  excited  that  he  began  to  stammer  his 
lines.  Miss  Claxton  tried  to  reassure  him  and  partly  suc- 
ceeded. 

Then  the  audience  realized  that  the  theater  was  on  fire,  and 
a  movement  began.  The  star,  with  Mr.  Murdoch  and  Mrs. 
Farren,  joined  hands,  walked  to  the  footlights  and  begged 
the  audience  to  go  out  in  an  orderly  manner.  "You  see,  we 
are  between  you  and  the  fire,"  said  Miss  Claxton.  The  peo- 
ple were  proceeding  quietly,  when  a  man's  voice  •'shouted,  "It 
is  time  to  be  out  of  this,"  and  every  one  seemed  seized  with  a 
frenzy.  The  main  entrance  doors  opened  inwardly,  and  there 
was  such  a  jam  that  these  could  not  be  manipulated. 

The  crowds  from  the  galleries  rushed  down  the  stairways 
and  fell  or  jumped  headlong  into  the  struggling  mass  below. 
Of  the  1,000  people  in  the  theater  297  perished.  They  were 
either  burned,  suffocated  or  trampled  to  death.  The  actor 
Murdoch  was  one  of  the  victims. 

That  same  year,  1876,  a  panic  resulted  in  the  Chinese  theater 
of  San  Francisco  from  a  cry  of  fire.  A  lighted  cigar  which 
someone  playfully  dropped  into  a  spectator's  coat  pocket 
caused  a  smell  of  burning  wool.  The  audience  became  panic 
stricken  and  rushed  madly  for  the  exits.  At  the  time  there 


186  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

were  about  900  Americans  in  the  auditorium,  and  of  this 
number  one-quarter  were  seriously  injured.  The  fire  itself 
was  of  no  consequence. 

The  destruction  of  the  Ring  theater  at  Vienna,  Dec.  8,  1881, 
remains  the  greatest  horror  of  the  kind  in  the  history  of  civili- 
zation. It  was  preceded  on  March  23  of  the  same  year,  by 
the  burning  of  the  Municipal  theater  in  Nice,  Italy,  caused 
by  an  explosion  of  gas,  and  in  which  between  150  and  200 
people  perished  miserably,  but  the  magnitude  of  the  Vienna 
holocaust  made  the  world  forget  Nice  for  the  time.  The 
feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  was  being  celebrated  by 
the  Viennese,  and  Offenbach's  "Les  Contes  d'Hoffman,"  an 
opera  bouffe,  was  the  play.  The  audience  numbered  2,500. 

Fire  was  suddenly  observed  in  the  scenery,  and  a  wild  panic 
started.  An  iron  curtain,  designed  for  just  such  emergencies, 
was  forgotten,  and  the  flames,  which  might  thus  have  been 
confined  to  the  stage,  spread  furiously  through  the  entire 
building.  The  scene  was  changed  from  light-hearted  revelry, 
with  gladsome  music,  to  one  of  lurid  horror. 

The  exits  from  the  galleries  were  long  and  tortuous  and 
quickly  became  choked.  As  in  the  Iroquois  theater  fire,  those 
who  had  occupied  the  gallery  seats  were  the  ones  who  lost 
their  lives.  But  few  escaped  from  the  galleries.  The  great 
majority  of  the  spectators  were  burned  beyond  recognition  by 
their  nearest  relatives.  One  hundred  and  fifty  were  so  charred 
that  they  were  buried  in  a  common  grave,  and  the  city's 
mourning  was  shared  by  all  the  world. 

The  next  fire  of  this  nature  to  attract  the  world's  attention 
and  sympathy  was  the  destruction  of  the  Circus  Ferroni  at 
Berditscheff,  Russian  Poland.  Four  hundred  and  thirty  peo- 
ple were  killed  and  eighty  mortally  injured.  Many  children 
were  crushed  and  suffocated  in  the  jam,  and  horses  and  other 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  187 

trained  animals  perished  by  the  score.  This  was  on  Jan.  13, 
1883,  and  the  origin  of  the  conflagration  was  traced  to  a 
stableman  who  smoked  a  cigarette  while  lying  in  a  heap  of 
straw. 

TWO  GREAT  PARISIAN  HORRORS. 

The  burning  of  the  Opera  Comique  in  Paris,  May  25,  1887, 
was  a  spectacular  horror.  Here  again  an  iron  curtain  that 
would  have  protected  the  audience  was  not  lowered.  The 
first  act  of  "Mignon"  was  on,  when  the  scenery  was  observed 
to  be  ablaze.  The  upper  galleries  were  transformed  into  in- 
fernos, in  which  men  knocked  other  men  and  women  down 
and  trampled  them  in  their  eagerness  to  save  themselves,  while 
the  flames  reached  out  and  enveloped  them  all. 

Many  of  the  actors  and  actresses  escaped  only  in  their  cos- 
tumes, and  some  rushed  nude  into  the  streets.  The  scenes  in 
the  thoroughfares  where  men  and  women  in  tights  and  ball 
dresses  and  men  in  gorgeous  theatrical  robes  mingled  with  the 
naked,  and  the  dead  and  dying  were  strewn  about,  made  a 
picture  fantastically  terrible.  The  official  list  of  dead  was 
seventy-five,  but  many  others  died  from  the  fire's  effects. 

The  theater  at  Exeter,  England,  burned  Sept.  5,  1887,  was 
ignited  from  gas  lights,  and  so  much  smoke  filled  the  edifice 
in  a  short  time  that  near  200  were  suffocated  in  their  seats. 
They  were  found  sitting  there  afterward,  just  as  though  they 
were  still  watching  the  play.  This  was  the  eleventh,  and  the 
Oporto  fire  the  twelfth  of  the  big  conflagrations  of  the  country. 
One  hundred  and  seventy  dead  were  taken  from  the  ruins 
of  the  Portuguese  playhouse  after  the  flames  which  destroyed 
it  on  the  evening  of  March  31,  1888,  had  been  subdued. 
Many  sailors  and  marine  soldiers  in  the  galleries  used  knives 


i88  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

to  kill  persons  standing  in  their  way,  and  scores  of  the  victims 
were  found  with  their  throats  cut. 

Ten  years  after  the  Opera  Comique  fire  occurred  the  great- 
est of  all  Parisian  horrors,  the  destruction  by  flames  of  the 
charity  bazar,  May  4,  1897.  Members  of  the  nobility,  and 
even  royalty,  were  among  the  victims.  All  of  fashionable 
Paris  were  under  the  roof  of  a  temporary  wooden  edifice 
known  to  visitors  to  the  exposition  of  1889  as  "Old  Paris." 
The  annual  bazar  in  the  interest  of  charity  had  always  been 
one  of  the  most  imposing  of  the  spring  functions.  The 
wealthy  and  distinguished,  titled  and  modish  were  there  fn 
larger  numbers  than  on  any  previous  occasion. 

The  fire  broke  out  with  a  suddenness  that  so  dazed  every- 
one that  the  small  chance  of  escape  from  the  flimsy  structure 
was  made  even  less.  Duchesses,  marquises,  countesses,  baron- 
esses and  grand  dames  joined  in  the  mad  rush  for  the  exits. 
The  men  present  are  said  to  have  acted  in  a  particularly  cow- 
ardly manner,  knocking  down  and  trampling  upon  women  and 
children.  The  death  list  of  more  than  100  included  the  Duch- 
esses d'Alencon  and  De  St.  Didier,  the  Marquise  de  Maison, 
and  three  barons,  three  baronesses,  one  count,  eleven  count- 
esses, one  general,  five  sisters  of  charity  and  one  mother  supe- 
rior. The  Duchess  d'Alencon  was  the  favorite  sister  of  the 
Empress  of  Austria  and  had  been  a  fiance  of  the  mad  King 
Ludwig  of  Bavaria.  The  Duchess  d'Uzes  was  badly  burned. 
The  shock  of  the  news  and  the  death  of  his  niece,  the  Duchess 
d'Alencon,  accounted  for  the  death  on  May  7  of  the  Due 
d'Aumale. 

The  Gaiety  Theater  in  Milwaukee  on  November  5,  1869, 
furnished  more  than  thirty  victims  to  the  fire  fiend,  but  only 
two  of  these  were  burned  to  death.  The  Central  Theater  in 
Philadelphia  was  destroyed  April  28,  1892,  and  six  persons 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  189 

perished.  A  panic  occurred  at  the  Front  Street  playhouse  in 
Baltimore  December  27,  1895,  among  an  audience  composed 
entirely  of  Polish  Jews.  There  was  no  fire,  but  a  woman  who 
had  seen  a  bright  light  on  the  stage  thought  there  was,  and 
her  cries  caused  a  stampede  that  resulted  in  twenty-four  deaths. 

Statisticians  show  that  theaters  as  a  rule  do  not  attain  an 
old  age,  but  that  their  average  life  in  all  countries  is  but 
twenty-two  and  three-fourths  years.  In  the  United  States  the 
average  is  but  eleven  to  thirteen  years,  and  here  almost  a  third 
are  destroyed  before  they  have  been  built  five  years.  More 
playhouses  feed  the  flames  just  prior  to  and  after  than  during 
performances,  because  of  the  added  precautions  of  employes. 

Two  deadly  conflagrations  occurred  in  New  York  in  1900. 
The  first  the  Windsor  hotel  fire,  which  resulted  in  the  death  of 
80  persons.  Fire  broke  out  in  the  old  hotel  on  Fifth  avenue 
about  midnight.  With  lightning  rapidity  the  flames  shot  up 
the  light  and  air  shafts,  filling  the  rooms  with  smoke  and  mak- 
ing them  as  light  as  day.  The  guests  suddenly  aroused 
from  sleep  became  panic  stricken.  The  fire  department  was 
unable  to  throw  up  ladders  and  give  aid  as  fast  as  frightened 
faces  appeared  at  the  windows.  The  result  was  that  many 
jumped  to  death.  They  were  picked  up  dead  and  dying  in 
the  streets.  Others  ran  from  their  rooms  into  the  fire-swept 
hallways  and  were  burned  to  death. 

A  short  time  later  fire  broke  out  one  afternoon  on  the  docks 
across  the  river  from  New  York  at  Hoboken.  The  fire  was 
on  a  pier  piled  high  with  combustible  material.  It  burned 
like  powder,  spreading  to  the  ocean  liners  tied  to  the  pier  and 
the  efforts  of  the  fire  department  were  not  effective  in  check- 
ing it.  The  cables  which  held  the  blazing  vessels  to  the  piers 
burned  through  and  they  drifted  into  the  river,  carrying  fire 
and  death  among  the  shipping.  Longshoremen  unloading  and 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

loading  the  vessels  jumped  in  panic  into  the  river.  Others 
found  themselves  cut  off  from  both  land  and  water  by  the 
flames  on  all  sides  and  were  burned  like  rats  in  a  trap.  It 
was  estimated  that  300  lives  were  lost.  Many  bodies  were 
never  recovered  and  others  were  found  miles  down  the  river. 

Property  losses  are  seldom  proportionate  to  the  financial 
losses  from  fire.  In  the  Iroquois  theater  fire  the  property  loss 
was  almost  inconsequential,  while  at  the  burning  of  Moscow 
by  the  Russians,  Sept.  4,  1812,  the  property  loss  amounted  to 
more  than  $150,000,000,  while  no  lives  were  lost. 

Constantinople,  with  its  squalid  and  crowded  streets,  has 
always  been  a  fruitful  spot  for  fires.  They  are  of  annual  oc- 
currence and  as  the  Turkish  fire  department  is  a  travesty,  are 
usually  of  considerable  magnitude.  The  great  fire  of  that 
city  was  in  1729,  when  12,000  houses  were  destroyed  and 
7,000  persons  burned  to  death.  Aug.  12,  1782,  a  three  days' 
fire  started  in  which  10,000  houses,  50  corn  mills  and  100 
mosques  were  burned  and  100  lives  lost.  In  February  of  the 
same  year,  600  houses  were  burned,  and  in  June  7,000  more. 
Fires  are  the  best  safeguards  for  Constantinople's  health. 

Great  Britain  has  had  comparatively  few  fires.  In  1598 
one  at  Tiverton  destroyed  400  houses  and  33  lives.  In  1854 
50  persons  were  killed  at  Gateshead.  The  great  fire  of  London 
raged  from  Sept.  2  to  6,  1666.  It  began  in  a  wooden  build- 
ing in  Pudding  Lane  and  consumed  the  buildings  on  436  acres, 
blotting  out  400  streets,  13,200  houses,  St.  Paul's  and  86 
other  churches,  58  halls  and  all  public  buildings,  three  of  the 
city  gates  and  four  stone  bridges.  The  property  loss  was 
$53,652,500,  while  only  six  persons  were  killed. 

Nearly  every  large  city  of  the  United  States  has  had  its 
great  fire.  That  of  Boston  was  on  Nov.  9  and  10,  1872.  Fire 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  191 

started  at  Summer  and  Kingston  streets  and  65  acres  were 
burned  over.  The  property  loss  was  about  $75,000,000  and 
there  was  no  loss  of  life. 

The  great  fire  in  New  York  began  in  Merchant  street,  Dec. 
16,  1835.  No  lives  were  lost,  but  the  property  loss  was  $15,- 
000,000  and  52  acres  were  devastated,  530  buildings  being  de- 
stroyed. Ten  years  later  a  much  smaller  fire  in  the  same  dis- 
trict caused  the  death  of  35  persons. 

July  9,  1850,  thirty  lives  were  lost  in  Philadelphia,  and 
February  8,  1865,  twenty  persons  were  killed  by  another  fire. 
Large  fires  in  that  city  have  almost  invariably  been  accom- 
panied by  loss  of  life. 

As  the  result  of  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration  in  1866,  nearly 
half  of  Portland,  Md.,  was  swept  away  by  fire.  The  property 
loss  was  $10,000,000,  but  there  was  no  loss  of  life.  In  Sep- 
tember and  October  of  1871  forest  fires  raged  in  Wisconsin 
and  Michigan.  An  immense  territory  was  swept  over  and 
more  than  1,000  persons  lost  their  lives. 

The  greatest  fire  of  modern  times  was  the  one  which  started 
in  Chicago,  October  8,  1871.  A  strip  through  the  heart  of  the 
city,  four  miles  long  and  a  mile  and  a  half  wide,  was  burned 
over.  The  total  loss  was  $196,000,000  and  250  persons  lost 
their  lives.  By  the  fire  17,450  buildings  were  destroyed  and 
98,860  persons  were  made  homeless.  Within  four  years  the 
entire  burned  district  had  been  rebuilt. 

Fires  in  Chicago  attended  with  loss  of  life  have  been  of 
increasing  frequency  in  the  past  few  years.  Fire  in  the  Hen- 
ning  &  Speed  building  on  Dearborn  street,  in  1900,  caused  four 
girls  to  lose  their  lives.  Since  it  and  before  the  Iroquois  dis- 
aster have  come :  The  St.  Luke  Sanitarium  horror,  10  lives 
lost,  43  injured;  the  Doremus  laundry  explosion,  8  lives  lost; 


192 


TROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


the  American  Glucose  Sugar  refinery  blaze,  S  killed;  North- 
western railroad  boiler  explosion,  8  killed,  Stock  Yards  boiler 
explosion,  18  killed,  and  about  a  year  ago  the  Lincoln  hotel 
fire,  14  visiting  stockmen  suffocated. 

In  view  of  this  terrible  array  of  suffering  and  death,  it 
would  seem  that  no  precaution  could  be  too  great  to  avert 
future  calamities.  But  although  human  life  is  beyond  price, 
it  is  probable  that  the  world  at  large  will  move  on  very  much  in 
the  same  old  way — an  arousing  and  an  upheaval  of  public 
sentiment  for  a  time  after  the  burned  and  maimed  have  been 
laid  away,  and  then  a  gradual  return  of  carelessness.  It  would 
seem  impossible,  however,  that  the  United  States  could  forget 
for  many  generations  the  Iroquois  disaster,  and  that  it  must 
result  in  a  final  reform  of  all  arrangements  looking  to  the 
safety  of  theater  goers. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

STORIES  AND  NARRATIVES  OF  THE  HOLOCAUST. 

From  two  women  who  sat  within  a  few  feet  of  the  stage 
when  the  fire  broke  out  in  the  theater,  and  who  remained  calm 
enough  to  observe  the  actual  beginning  of  the  holocaust,  there 
came  one  of  the  most  thrilling  and  significant  stories  of  that 
afternoon  of  panic. 

Mrs.  Emma  Schweitzler  and  Mrs.  Eva  Katherine  Clapp 
Gibson,  of  Chicago,  were  the  two  women  who  told  this  story. 
They  occupied  seats  in  the  fifth  row  of  the  orchestra  circle. 
Mrs.  Schweitzler  was  the  last  woman  to  walk  out  unassisted 
from  the  first  floor.  Mrs.  Gibson  was  carried  out  badly 
burned. 

"The  curtain  that  was  run  down,"  said  Mrs.  Schweitzler, 
"was  the  regular  drop  curtain  painted  with  the  'autumn  scene.' 
It  was  the  same  curtain  that  was  lowered  before  the  show 
started  and  the  same  one  used  during  the  interval  following 
the  first  act.  No  other  curtain  was  lowered. 

"As  soon  as  the  drop  curtain  came  down  it  caught  fire.  A 
hole  appeared  at  the  left  hand  side.  Then  the  blaze  spread 
rapidly,  and  instantly  a  great  blast  of  hot  air  came  from  the 
stage  through  the  hole  in  the  curtain  and  into  the  audience. 
Big  pieces  of  the  curtain  were  loosened  by  the  terrific  rush  of 
air  and  were  blown  into  the  people's  faces.  Scores  of  women 
and  children  must  have  been  burned  to  death  by  these  frag- 
ments of  burning  grease  and  paint.  I  was  in  the  theater  until 
the  curtain  had  entirely  burned.  It  went  up  in  the  flames  as 
if  it  had  been  paper,  and  did  more  damage  than  good." 

193 


194  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

"So  far  as  could  be  observed  from  the  audience,  the  asbestos 
curtain  was  not  lowered  at  all,"  said  Mrs.  Schweitzler.  "I 
was  particularly  interested  in  that  'autumn-scene'  curtain  be- 
cause I  paint  oil  pictures  myself. 

"Before  the  show  started  I  sat  for  a  long  time  examining 
the  painting.  From  our  seats  in  the  fifth  row  we  could  see 
every  detail.  The  'autumn  scene'  was  done  in  heavy  red  and 
in  order  to  get  some  of  the  effects  the  artist  had  to  use  great 
daubs  of  paint,  smearing  it  on  pretty  thick  in  some  places.  I 
am  certain  that  the  backing  was  common  canvas  and  if  this 
was  so  it  must  have  been  covered  with  wax  before  the  paint 
was  put  on.  This  same  curtain  came  down  after  the  first 
act,  so  I  had  plenty  of  time  to  know  it. 

"When  the  fire  started  my  first  feeling  was  that  the  stage 
people  were  acting  recklessly.  For  several  minutes  the  fire 
was  no  bigger  than  a  handkerchief.  A  bucket  of  water  would 
have  saved  the  lives  of  every  one.  But  there  seemed  to  be  no 
water  on  the  stage. 

"One  of  the  stage  hands  first  took  his  hand  and  then  used  a 
piece  of  plank  to  smother  the  flames.  It  kept  spreading.  After 
Eddie  Foy  had  made  his  speech  the  'autumn  scene'  curtain 
came  down.  'Pull  down  the  curtain/  was  all  the  cry  I  heard. 
They  did  not  say  'Pull  down  the  asbestos  curtain/  nor  was 
there  any  mention  of  any  fireproof  curtain.  The  'autumn 
scene/  with  its  highly  inflammable  paint,  came  down,  and  it 
was  like  pouring  fire  into  the  people's  faces.  It  was  a  great 
piece  of  bungling — far  worse  than  if  no  curtain  had  been  low- 
ered at  all. 

"It  has  been  said  that  noise  and  panic-like  screaming  fol- 
lowed the  burning  of  the  curtain.  This  is  absolutely  not  true. 
The  whole  place  was  almost  gruesomely  silent. 

"Mrs.  Gibson  and  I  were  half  way  in  from  the  aisle  and 


IROOUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  195 

had  to  wait  for  many  to  go  out  before  we  started.  At  the 
aisle  some  one  stepped  on  Mrs.  Gibson's  dress  and  she  fell  to 
the  floor.  Men,  women  and  children  trampled  over  her,  and 
having  done  all  I  could  I  started  out.  In  the  lobby  I  begged 
some  men  to  return  for  Mrs.  Gibson,  but  they  said  it  was  no 
use.  The  curtain  by  that  time  was  burned  up." 

Mrs.  Gibson,  wife  of  Dr.  Charles  B.  Gibson,  confirmed  Mrs. 
Schweitzler's  assertions  that  no  asbestos  curtain  was  visible 
from  the  audience.  "From  the  place  where  I  fell,"  said  Mrs. 
Gibson,  "I  crawled  on  hands  and  knees  to  the  entrance.  When 
I  got  to  the  rear  the  curtain  was  all  burned  away." 

ESCAPE  OF  MOTHER  AND  TWO  SMALL  CHILDREN 

Mrs.  William  Mueller,  Jr.,  3330  Calumet  avenue,  who  at 
the  time  was  confined  to  her  bed  from  injuries  sustained  by 
trying  to  get  out  of  the  Iroquois  as  the  panic  began  and  from 
bruises  sustained  by  being 'trampled  upon,  tells  the  story  that 
she  with  her  two  children,  Florence,  5  years  old,  and  Belle,  3 
years  old,  occupied  three  seats  in  the  second  row  from  the  back 
on  the  ground  floor  on  the  right  side  of  the  theater.  The  chil- 
dren became  restless  as  the  second  act  began  and  Mrs.  Mueller 
took  them  to  a  retiring  room. 

After  the  children  had  been  in  the  retiring  room  for  some 
minutes,  they  wanted  to  go  back  and  see  the  performance. 
Mrs.  Mueller  started  back  into  the  lobby  to  go  to  her  seats, 
when  she  saw,  in  a  glass,  the  reflection  of  the  flames.  She 
hurried  back  into  the  retiring  room  and  asked  for  the  chil- 
dren's wraps,  saying  she  thought  something  was  wrong  and 
did  not  want  to  stay  in  the  theater  any  longer.  The  maid  in 
the  room  asked  her  what  was  the  matter  and  Mrs.  Mueller 
told  her. 


196  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

"Oh,  that's  all  right.  I  won't  give  you  the  things  now," 
the  maid  replied.  "I'll  go  and  see  what  is  the  matter." 

Mrs.  Mueller  demanded  the  children's  wraps,  but  they  were 
refused.  Just  then  Mrs.  Mueller  thinks  she  must  have  heard 
the  first  cry  of  alarm  and  she  ran  to  the  front  doors  with  the 
children.  She  tried  one  door  and  found  it  locked.  Then  she 
tried  another,  and  that  was  locked.  She  pushed  against  it 
and  then  threw  herself  against  it,  trying  to  force  it  open.  She 
does  not  remember  seeing  any  employee  near  the  outer  door. 

Mrs.  Mueller  then  heard  people  in  the  audience  shrieking 
and  then  she  fainted.  It  is  thought  that  the  oldest  little  girl, 
Florence,  also  fainted. 

As  the  people  pushed  out  of  the  theater  they  trampled  upon 
Mrs.  Mueller  and  the  child.  Mrs.  Mueller  was  horribly 
bruised  and  was.  either  kicked  in  the  eyes  or  else  some  one 
stepped  on  her  face.  It  was  at  first  feared  she  would  lose  her 
eyesight. 

The  first  person  carried  out  when  the  rescue  began  was 
Mrs.  Mueller ;  she  was  right  in  front  of  the  doors.  Near  her 
was  Florence.  Just  before  the  men  entered,  and  after  every 
one  else  seemed  to  be  out,  little  Belle  came  walking  out.  A 
man  ran  to  her,  picked  her  u£  and  took  her  to  a  barber  shop, 
where  she  continued  to  cry  for  her  mother.  The  little  girl, 
Florence,  was  also  carried  out  and  was  taken  to  the  same  bar- 
ber shop,  where  the  two  children  were  later  found  by  Mr. 
Mueller.  Mrs.  Mueller  was  taken  to  the  Samaritan  hospital, 
where  she  was  found  that  night. 

EXPRESSION  OF  THE  DEAD. 

John  Maynard  Harlan  visited  the  morgue  in  search  of  the 
tody  of  Mrs.  F.  Morton  Fox  and  her  three  children,  who  were 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  197 

intimate  friends  of  Mrs.  Harlan.  In  speaking  of  his  experi- 
ence he  said : 

"I  was  profoundly  impressed  by  the  expressions  on  the  faces 
of  many  of  the  dead.  Perhaps  it  was  only  a  fancy,  but  it 
seemed  to  me  that  the  faces  of  those  having  the  higher  order 
of  intelligence  showed  less  horror  and  more  resignation.  Some 
of  these  seemed  to  have  passed  away  almost  with  a  smile  of 
faith,  so  serene  were  their  countenances.  But  the  faces  of  the 
less  intelligent  were  uniformly  struck  with  suffering  to  a  ter- 
rible degree. 

"When  I  found  Mrs.  Fox's  little  boy  the  smile  of  courage 
on  his  face  was  one  of  the  most  noble  sights  that  I  ever  saw. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  I  could  see  the  brave  little  fellow  trying 
to  reassure  his  mother  and  facing  death  with  a  heroism  not  ex- 
pected of  his  years." 

ONLY  SURVIVOR  OF  LARGE  THEATER  PARTY. 

Mrs.  W.  F.  Hanson,  of  Chicago,  was  the  only  member  of  a 
theater  party  of  nine  to  escape.  She  wept  as  she  talked  of  her 
companions  and  shuddered  as  she  recalled  the  manner  of  their 
death. 

"I  cannot  tell  how  I  got  out  of  the  theater,"  she  said.r"I 
remember  starting  for  one  of  the  aisles  when  the  panic  was  at 
its  height.  I  was  separated  from  my  friends.  We  had  a  row 
of  seats  in  the  second  balcony.  Suddenly  someone  seized  me 
and  I  was  tossed'  and  dragged  along  the  aisle  and  I  lost  con- 
sciousness. When  I  came  to  my  senses  I  was  in  a  store  across 
the  street.  Every  one  of  my  companions  perished.  We  com- 
posed a  holiday  theater  party  and  we  were  all  related  by  mar- 
riage." 


198  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

' 
ALL  HTS  FAMILY  GONE. 

Arthur  E.  Hull,  of  Chicago,  who  lost  his  entire  family 
in  the  Iroquois  fire,  tells  the  following  pathetic  story : 

"It  is  too  terrible  to  contemplate.  I  can  never  go  to  my 
home  again.  To  look  at  the  playthings  left  by  the  children 
just  where  they  put  them,  to  see  how  my  dear  dead  wife  ar- 
ranged all  the  details  of  her  home  so  carefully,  the  very  walls 
ring  with  the  names  of  my  dear  dead  ones.  I  can  never  go 
there  again. 

"Mrs.  Hull  had  called  the  children  from  their  play  to  go 
and  see  the  show.  They  were  laughing  and  shouting  about  the 
house  in  childish  glee,  when  she,  all  radiant  with  smiles,  came 
to  tell  them  of  the  surprise  she  had  planned  for  them. 

"They  left  their  toys  just  where  they  were.  She  fixed  the 
things  about  the  house  a  bit,  and  then  took  them  with  her. 

"Mary,  our  maid,  went  with  them.  She,  too,  was  joyous  at 
the  prospect,  and  a  happier  party  never  started  anywhere. 
Everything  was  smiles  and  sunshine. 

"They  had  planned  for  a  day  of  joy,  and  it  turned  out  a 
day  of  sorrow.  Sorrow  more  deep  than  can  be  fathomed  by 
human  mind.  Sorrow  so  acute  that  it  is  indescribable." 

The  party  consisted  of  Mrs.  Hull,  her  little  daughter,  Helen 
Muriel,  her  two  adopted  sons,  Donald  DeGraft"  and  Dwight 
Moody,  together  with  Mary  Forbes. 

The  two  boys  had  been  adopted  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hull  but 
three  weeks  before,  and  had  lately  come  from  Topeka,  Kan., 
where  their  father,  Fred  J.  Hull,  had  died. 

The  party  was  gotten  up  for  them  particularly,  and  it  was 
the  first  and  last  time  they  were  ever  to  witness  a  stage  pro- 
duction. This  was  only  one  of  a  score  of  recorded  cases  where 
the  unselfish  desire  to  give  pleasure  to  the  young  caused  their 
death. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  199 

A  FAMILY  PARTY  BURNED. 

Dr.  Charles  S.  Owen,  a  physician  and  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent men  in  Wheaton,  died  at  the  Chicago  homeopathic  hos- 
pital from  injuries  sustained  at  the  Iroquois  fire.  On  Christ- 
mas day  Dr.  Owen  held  a  family  reunion,  and  eight  relatives 
came  from  Ohio  to  spend  the  holiday  week.  Wednesday  a 
theater  party  was  arranged  and  twelve  seats  were  secured  at 
the  Iroquois  in  the  front  row  of  the  first  balcony.  Out  of  the 
entire  party  of  twelve  Dr.  Owen  was  the  only  one  to  escape. 

CARRIES  DAUGHTER'S  BODY  HOME  IN  HIS  ARMS. 

It  appears  that  Miss  Blackburn  had  attended  the  matinee 
with  her  father,  James  Blackburn.  They  had  seats  in  the  first 
balcony.  In  the  panic  father  and  daughter  became  separated. 
The  father  escaped  to  the  Randolph  street  lobby  and  then 
started  back  for  his  daughter.  He  found  her  body  on  the 
staircase  horribly  burned.  Catching  up  the  lifeless  form  and 
wrapping  it  in  his  overcoat,  Mr.  Blackburn  rushed  to  the 
street  and  procured  a  cab,  in  which  he  was  driven  with  his 
burden  directly  to  the  Northwestern  station.  He  caught  the 
first  train  for  Glen  View  and  had  the  body  of  his  child  at  home 
in  half  an  hour. 

SAD  ERROR  IN  IDENTIFICATION. 

Mrs.  Lulu  Bennett,  Chicago,  whose  daughter,  Gertrude 
Eloise  Swayze,  16  years  old,  was  a  victim  of  the  holocaust, 
thought  she  would  avoid  the  gruesome  task  of  making  a  tour 
of  the  morgues,  so  she  asked  a  friend  to  search  for  her  daugh- 
ter's body..  After  visiting  a  number  of  morgues  he  finally 
found  the  body  of  a  girl  at  Rolston's,  in  Adams  street,  which 
he  identified  as  Miss  Swayze.  The  body  was  conveyed  to  the 
mother's  residence,  but  when  she  looked  at  the  body  she  turned 


200  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

away  with  a  moan  and  said:  "That  is  not  my  Gertrude;  take 
it  away,  take  it  away.  There  has  been  some  terrible  mistake 
made." 

Mrs.  Bennett  made  a  personal  tour  of  the  morgues  afterward 

and  found  her  daughter's  body. 

. 

THE  HANGERi  OF  THE  ASBESTOS  CURTAIN. 

The  asbestos  curtain  at  the  Iroquois  theater  was  not  hung  in 
a  manner  satisfactory  to  Lyman  Savage,  the  stage  carpenter 
who  put  it  up,  according  to  a  statement  he  made  to  his  son,  C. 
B.  Savage,  head  electrician  at  Power's  theater,  a  short  time 
before  his  death  which  occurred  indirectly  as  a  result  of  the 
fire. 

Mr.  Savage,  who  lived  at  1750  Wright  wood  avenue  and 
who  was  a  stage  carpenter  in  Chicago  for  twenty-five  years, 
worked  at  the  Iroquois  theater  until  two  weeks  before  the  fire, 
when  he  was  compelled  to  leave  because  of  kidney  trouble. 
His  son  ascribes  his  death  to  excitement  over  the  Iroquois 
fire.  That  disaster  was  uppermost  in  his  mind. 

Mr.  Savage  said:  "I  asked  my  father  if  he  hung  the  as- 
bestos curtain  at  the  Iroquois  theater  and  he  said  he  did.  I 
then  asked  him  if  he  hung  the  curtain  according  to  his  own 
ideas,  and  he  replied  in  substance:  'No,  that  curtain  was  not 
hung  my  way,  but  Cummings'  (the  stage  carpenter's)  way.  If 
you  want  to  see  a  curtain  hung  my  way  you  should  see  the  cur- 
tain in  a  theater  I  worked  on  in  Michigan  last  fall.' 

"My  father  did  not  specify  what  point  about  the  hanging 
of  the  curtain  he  did  not  approve,  and  I  do  not  know  what 
feature  of  the  work  he  was  not  satisfied  with. 

"I  asked  my  father  if  the  curtain  was  hung  on  Manila 
ropes,  and  he  said  that  it  was  not,  but  that  it  was  hung  on  wire 
cables.  I  know  that  to  be  a  fact,  for  I  saw  the  cables  myself. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  201 

"I  do  not  desire  to  shield  any  negligent  person,  but  Stage 
Carpenter  Cummings  was  not  responsible  for  the  lowering  of 
the  curtain  only  in  so  far  as  he  was  responsible  for  having  some 
one  there  to  lower  it. 

"I  was  on  the  stage  when  the  fire  broke  out,  having  gone  to 
the  theater  to  see  Archie  Bernard,  the  chief  electrician.  The 
statement  has  been  made  that  the  lights  were  not  thrown  on 
in  the  auditorium  after  the  fire  was  discovered.  Just  before 
the  fire  broke  out  Bernard  was  stooping  down  preparing  to 
change  the  lights,  and  he  had  just  said  to  me :  'I  will  show 
you  how  I  change  my  lights.' 

"When  the  fire  was  discovered  I  saw  him  reach  down  to 
throw  a  switch.  Whether  he  threw  the  switch  that  lights  the 
auditorium  I  do  not  know,  but  I  do  know  that  the  fire  from 
the  draperies  fell  all  around  the  switchboard  and  burned  out 
the  fuses.  Consequently  if  the  lights  had  been  turned  on  the 
fact  that  the  fuses  were  burned  out  would  cause  them  to  go  out. 

"The  first  I  knew  of  the  fire  was  when  I  heard  some  one 
behind  and  above  me  clapping  his  hands.  I  looked  up  and  saw 
McMullen  trying  to  put  out  the  blaze  with  his  hands.  If  he 
could  have  reached  far  enough  he  would  have  extinguished 
the  fire.  He  did  the  best  he  could. 

"I  carried  four  women  out  of  the  theater  and  burned  my 
hands.  I  stayed  on  the  stage  as  long  as  it  was  possible  for  me 
to  do  so." 

KEEPSAKES  OF  THE  DEAD. 

Many  Chicago  people  spent  a  part  of  the  Sabbath  following 
the  fire  in  the  dingy  little  storeroom  at  58  Dearborn  street, 
where  the  effects  and  the  valuables  of  the  Iroquois  theater 
are  kept. 


202  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

The  storeroom  was  crowded  all  day.  The  line  formed  at 
Randolph  street  and  pushed  its  way  to  the  north.  A  mother 
stepped  to  one  oit  the  show  cases.  She  had  lost  a  boy  and  she 
had  come  to  find  his  effects.  She  was  looking  through  the 
glass  when  she  called  one  of  the  policemen  to  her  side. 

"That's  it.  that's  my  little  boy's,"  and  she  pointed  at  a 
prayer  book. 

The  policeman  took  it  from  the  case. 

"Yes,  that's  it,"  she%  murmured. 

From  the  street  came  the  tolling  of  the  half  hour. 

"Just  a  week  ago  he  started  for  Sunday  school  with  it.  It 
was  a  Christmas  present  and  he  took  it  to  church  for  the  first 
time." 

A  young  man,  well  dressed  and  prosperous  looking,  came  in 
and  walked  along  the  wall,  gazing  at  the  dresses  and  the  furs. 
Suddenly  he  seized  a  fur  boa  and  kissed  it. 

"It  was  her's,"  he  cried.    "May  I  take  it  with  me?" 

The  officer  told  him  to  visit  the  coroner  and  get  a  certificate. 

Two  young  men  entered  the  place  and  began  making  flip- 
pant remarks.  The  officers  overheard  their  conversation  and 
escorted  them  to  the  threshold  of  the  door.  Two  heavy  boots 
assisted  in  making  their  exit  into  the  street  a  rapid  one. 

THE  SCENE  AT  THOMPSON'S  RESTAURANT. 

John  R.  Thompson's  restaurant  at  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  fatal  day  was  an  eating-house,  decked  here  and  there 
with  late  lunchers ;  at  3  :2O  it  was  a  hospital,  with  the  dead  and 
dying  stretched  on  the  marble  eating  tables ;  at  4  o'clock  it  was 
a  morgue,  heaped  with  the  dead ;  at  7 130  it  was  again  a  restau- 
rant, but  with  chairs  turned  on  top  of  the  tables  that  had  been 
the  slabs  of  death,  with  the  aisles  cleared  of  the  human  debris, 
and  the  scrub  woman  at  work  mopping  out  the  relics  of  human 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  203 

flesh,  charred  and  as  dust,  and  sweeping  in  pans  the  pieces  of 
skulls  that  had  lain  about  the  mosaic  floors,  yet  damp  with 
the  flowing  length  of  woman's  hair. 

The  terror,  the  horror,  the  tragedies,  the  martyrdom,  the 
piercing  screams  of  the  dying,  the  agonized  groans,  the  excite- 
ment of  the  surging  mob,  the  hurrying  back  and  forth  of  the 
police  with  their  burdens  of  death  and  life  that  only  lasted  a 
moment,  the  pushing  of  physicians, -the  casting  of  dead  about 
on  the  floors  like  cord  wood,  one  on  top  of  the  other,  to  make 
room  on  the  marble  slabs  of  tables  for  the  oncoming  living, 
the  cries  of  children,  the  sobbing  of  persons  recognizing  their 
loved  one  dead,  or  worse  than  dead — this  unutterable  horror 
can  never  be  imagined,  and  was  never  known  before  in  Chi- 
cago, not  excepting  the  horrors  of  the  great  fire,  or  the  martyr- 
dom of  war. 

LIKE  A  FIELD  OF  BATTLE. 

"-  he  scene  presented  was  most  horrible.  It  was  like  a  battle- 
field where  the  dead  are  being  brought  to  the  church  or  the 
residence  that  has  at  a  moment's  notice  been  turned  into  a  hos- 
pital. In  they  came,  the  dead  and  the  injured,  at  first  at  the 
rate  of  one  every  three  minutes ;  then  faster,  several  at  a  time, 
until  the  restaurant  was  heaped  with  maimed  bodies  lying  on 
the  tables  or  the  floor,  with  surgeons  bending  over  them,  and 
.  on  the  cashier's  counter,  with  the  girl  there  sobbing  with  her 
face  hidden  in  her  hands,  afraid  to  look  at  the  ghastly  specta- 
cle. 

There  were  scores  of  physicians,  three  to  each  table,  and 
they  worked  with  vigor  and  earnestness  and  skill,  but  with  the 
tears  coursing  down  the  cheeks  of  many  a  .one.  At  first  the 
bodies  were  carried  into  Thompson's,  then  they  went  across 
the  street ;  many  of  them  were  put  in  ambulances  and  taken  to 


204  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

the  emergency  room  for  women  in  Marshall  Field's  store,  and 
still  many  others  of  the  injured — those  yet  able  to  walk — were 
half  dragged,  half  carried  to  the  offices -of  physicians  in  the 
Masonic  temple. 

WOMEN  EAGER  TO  HELP. 

Women  fought  and  shoved  and  pushed  their  way  through 
the  crowd  to  get  to  the  door  of  the  improvised  hospital,  that 
became  a  morgue  only  too  rapidly. 

"I  am  a  nurse.    Let  me  help,"  said  some. 

"I  am  a  mother.  My  boy  may  be  dead  inside.  For  God's 
sake,  let  me  save  a  life,"  said  another,  a  \voman  in  middle 
age. 

Others  came  in  from  the  crowds,  neither  mothers  nor  nurses, 
women  with  the  spirit  of  heroism  who  longed  to  serve 
humanity  when  humanity  was  at  so  low  an  ebb. 

"She's  dead,"  was  more  often  than  not  the  verdict  after 
much  work.  "Next !"  and  the  cold  and  stiffened  form  of 
the  victim  was  dragged,  head  first,  from  the  marble  eating 
table,  thrown  quickly  under  the  tables,  and  another  form,  per- 
haps that  of  a  tiny  child,  took  its  place. 

STEADY  STREAM  OF  BODIES. 

So  fast  came  the  bodies  for  a  time  that  there  was  one  steady 
stream  of  persons  carried  in — the  still  living — while  without 
the  morgue  stood  the  ambulances  waiting  for  their  burdens. 
The  sidewalk,  muddy  and  crowded,  was  strewn  with  the  dead, 
lying  on  blankets  or  else  thrown  down  in  the  mud,  waiting  to 
be  taken  to  the  various  morgues  of  the  city. 

There  was  a  figure  of  a  man — a  large  man  with  broad 
shoulders  and  dressed  in  black — whose  entire  face  was  burned 
away,  only  the  back  of  the  head  remaining  to  show  he  had  ever 


IRO0UOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  205 

had  a  head;  yet  below  the  shoulders  he  was  untouched  by  the 
fire. 

There  lay  women  with  their  arms  gone,  or  their  legs,  while 
one  had  one  side  burned  off,  with  only  the  cross  shoulder-bone 
remaining.  She  had  worn  a  pink  silk  waist  and  black  skirt ; 
the  fragments  of  the  garments  still  clung  to  her  like  a  shroud 
that  had  lain  in  the,  grave. 

There  was  a  little  boy,  with  a  shock  of  red-brown  hair,  whose 
tiny  mouth  was  open  in  terror  and  whose  baby  hands  were 
burned  off  so  that  his  tiny  wrists  showed  like  red  stumps. 

CLOTHING  TORN  TO  SHREDS. 

There  was  one  young  girl,  her  garments  so  torn  from  her 
splendid  figure  that  her  arms  and  white  bosom  rose  uncovered 
from  the  tattered  and  torn — not  burned — shreds  of  her  cloth- 
ing, and  the  shreds  of  a  turquoise-blue  silk  petticoat  draped  her 
limbs.  She  had  died  from  suffocation — fought  and  struggled 
and  died.  On  her  finger  sparkled  a  diamond  ring,  and  about 
her  slender  throat  was  a  string  of  pearl  beads. 

There  was  another  body  of  a  girl  that  several  persons  said 
they  knew,  yet  no  one  could  speak  her  name.  She  was  'beauti- 
ful in  her  terrible  death,  with  a  wealth  of  blonde  hair,  and 
staring  blue  eyes.  She  was  dressed  in  a  blue-black  velvet 
shirt  waist,  with  gold  buttons,  a  mixed  white  and  tan  and  gray 
walking  skirt,  with  a  pink  silk  petticoat  beneath.  She  had 
died  of  suffocation,  and,  as  she  lay  on  the  marble  table  dead, 
a  tiny  blue  chatelaine  watch,  ticking  merrily  the  hour,  was 
pinned  upon  her  breast. 

The  crowding,  the  howling,  the  screaming  in  Thompson's 
was  so  highly  pitched,  that  no  one  could  hear  the  orders  of  the 
physicians.  Bedlam  reigned — no  order,  no  leader,  everyone 
doing  what  he  could  to  help.  At  length  came  the  loud  voice  of 


206  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

a  man,  and  those  who  could  hear,  stopped  and  listened,  while - 
those  at  the  front  of  the  restaurant  said :    "Some  man  has  gone 
crazy  with  grief." 

It  was  State  Senator  Clark,  who,  seeing  the  need  of  an  or- 
der, jumped  to  a  table  and  gavei-one. 

"Everyone  get  out,"  he  cried, '"and  make  room  for  the  doc- 
tors. Let  there  be  three  doctors  to  a  table  and  one  nurse  while 
they  last." 

Skillfully,  cleverly,  worked  the  looters  of  the  dead.  Rings 
were  torn  from  stiffened  fingers,  watches,  bracelets,  chains, 
purses  taken  from  bosoms,  then  out  in  the  surging  crowd  of 
excited  humanity  went  the  thieves,  lost  to  recognition  by  those 
who  saw  them  loot  in  the  terribleness  of  the  scene. 

I 

PRAYERS  FOR  THE  DYING. 

Through  the  mangled  mass  of  humanity  moved  a  priest 
with  a  crucifix  in  his  white  hands — Father  McCarthy  of  Holy 
Name  Cathedral,  saying  the  prayers  for  the  dying — not  for 
the  dead,  but  to  give  the  last  words  of  a  hope  beyond.  Many 
persons  died  with  the  words  of  Father  McCarthy  sounding 
like  music  in  their  ears. 

"I  was  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  during  the  Civil 
War,"  said  Dr.  H.  L.  Montgomery  as  he  worked  over  the 
dying.  "I  rescued  150  people  during  the  great  Chicago  fire.  I 
have  seen  the  wreckage  of  explosions.  But  I  never  saw  any- 
thing so  grimly  horrible  as  this." 

"Will  Davis  is  in  the  theater  now  and  acting  like  crazy," 
interrupted  the  voice  of  a  boy.  "Can't  no'  one  speak  to  him  ?" 

And  out  dashed  all  the  employes  of  the  burning  theater  to 
find  Mr.  Davis  as  he  paced  the  destroyed  gallery  floor  and 
looked  at  the  ruin  below  and  at  the  dead  as  they  were  hauled 
out  of  the  debris. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  207 

Little  Ruth  Thompson,  the  seven-year-old  daughter  of  John 
R,  Thompson,  was  in  the  fire  and  almost  to  the  front  exit  when 
the  mob  hurled  her  back.  The  tiny  child  fought  and  was  yet 
forced  back.  She  climbed  onto  the  stage,  burning  as  it  was. 
and  worked  her  way  to  the  rear  door  and  out  into  the  alley, 
then  through  into  the  scene  of  death  and  pain  in  her  father's 
restaurant.  • 

"Papa,  I  got  out.    Where's  grandpa  ?"  she  cried. 

There  was  one  old  man,  with  white  beard  and  hair,  who 
wept  over  the  body  of  his  aged  wife.  He  was  Patrick  P. 
O'Donnell  of  the  firm  of  O'Donnell  &  Duer. 

Death,  pain,  tragedy — and  at  7 130  o'clock  the  place  was  a 
restaurant  again. 

CHILD  SAVED  FROM  DEATH  IN  FIRE  BY  BALLET 

GIRL. 

Left  under  the  burning  stage  during  the  mad  rush  by  tlie 
members  of  the  "Mr.  Bluebeard"  company  at  the  Iroquois 
theater  fire  a  four-year-old  girl,  who  appeared  in  the  perform- 
ance  as  one  of  the  Japanese  children,  was  heroically  rescued  by 
Elcis  Lillian,  one  of  the  ballet  girls,  who  was  the  last  to  escape 
from  the  theater. 

"I  was  the  last  to  escape  from  under  the  stage,"  said  Miss 
Lillian,  "and  as  I  rushed  headlong  through  the  smoke  I  saw 
the  little  girl  screaming  with  fright  and  almost  suffocated. 
The  rest  had  escaped,  leaving  the  child  behind.  I  took  the 
little  one  under  my  arm  in  a  death-like  grip  and  succeeded  in 
getting  into  the  aisle  behind  the  boxes;  and  ran  through  the 
smoking-room  and  out  the  front  door.  I  don't  know  how  I 
managed  to  hold  on  to  the  struggling  child,  or  how  I  came  to 
get  out  the  front  way. 


208  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

"I  was  dressed  in  tights,  and  as  soon  as  I  reached  the  street 
ran  into  Thompson's,  and  there  soon  had  her  revived.  The 
mother,  frantic  with  grief,  came  in,  and  when  she  saw  her 
daughter  and  heard  my  story  she  fell  upon  her  knees,  thank- 
ing me  for  saving  her  little  girl's  life." 

PRIEST  GIVES  ABSOLUTION  TO  DYING  FIRE 

VICTIMS. 

When  the  Rev.  F.  O'Brien  of  the  Holy  Name  Cathedral 
learned  of  the  fire  and  heard  that  so  many  were  dying  he 
rushed  into  the  Northwestern  Medical  University,  into  which 
many  victims  had  been  taken,  to  administer  the  last  sacraments 
to  members  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Finding  he  was  unable  to 
attend  the  great  number  being  brought  in,  he  announced  that 
he  would  give  a  general  absolution  to  all  the  Catholics  among 
the  victims. 

The  scene  of  that  last  absolution  beggars  description.  Dur- 
ing the  brief  moment  the  priest,  with  uplifted  hands,  besought 
God  to  pardon  all  the  frailties  of  his  dying  servants,  the  poor, 
mangled  men  and  women  seemed  to  realize  that  they  were  face 
to  face  with  the  inevitable.  Though  crazed  with  pain,  they 
ceased  to  moan,  and  fastened  their  fast-dimming  eyes  on  the 
priest. 

When  the  absolution  was  given  many  of  the  victims,  horribly 
burned,  with  the  flesh  of  their  head  and  fr  ce  blackened,  and  in 
most  cases  so  burned  as  to  expose  the  uones,  put  out  their 
hands  imploringly  toward  the  priest,  for  one  handclasp,  one 
word  of  sympathy  before  they  passed  away. 

Even  the  stalwart  policemen  were  affected  by  the  touching 
spectacle.  Another  priest  of  the  Holy  Ghost  order  arrived 
shortly  after,  and  both  clergymen  administered  absolution, 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  209 

remaining  until  the  injured  were  removed  to  various  hospitals 
and  the  dead  to  the  morgues. 

LITTLE  BOY  THANKS  GOD  FOR  CHANGING  HIS 

LUCK. 

Warren  is  the  ten-year-old  son  of  former  Governor  Joseph 
K.  Toole  of  Montana,  prominent  for  years  in  national  poli- 
tics. In  the  last  four  months  the  boy  has  been  the  victim  of 
three  accidents,  each  of  which  bore  serious  consequences  for 
the  little  fellow. 

Thursday  night,  when  he  knelt  down  at  his  bedside  in  the 
Auditorium  hotel  to  say  the  evening  prayer  which  his  mother 
had  taught  him,  he  mumbled : 

"I  thank  you,  God,  that  you  did  not  let  me  go  to  the  theater 
Wednesday  afternoon.  You  see,  if  you  had  not  delayed  my 
mamma  when  she  went  down  town  shopping  that  day,  my 
little  brother  and  I  would  have  been  in  the  fire.  I  thank  you, 
God,  for  changing  my  luck." 

Warren's  mamma  and  papa  heard  the  prayer.  Before  he  had 
reached  the  "Amen"  both  had  silently  bowed  their  heads. 

"Yes,  Warren,  your  luck  has  changed,"  said  the  former 
Governor,  as  he  bent  over  his  son  to  say  "Good  night." 

Less  than  four  months  ago  Warren  was  playing  with  a 
gun.  The  firearm  exploded  and  the  boy  was  seriously  in- 
jured. He  had  not  fully  recovered  when  he  fell  from  the  top 
of  a  cart  and  broke  his  arm.  Then,  a  few  weeks  ago,  a  dog 
upon  whom  he  lavished  much  of  his  youthful  affection  sud- 
denly sprang  at  him  and  bit  him  between  the  eyes.  He  was 
badly  scarred,  but  his  parents  were  thankful  that  he  did  not  lose 
his  sight. 

On  Wednesday  he  importuned  his  nurse  to  take  him  to  see 
"Mr.  Bluebeard,  Jr."  The  nurse  referred  him  to  his  father, 


2IO 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


and  the  latter  told  him  that  he  and  his  brother  could  go  if  his 
mother  returned  from  her  shopping  trip  in  time  to  take  them. 
The  holiday  crowds  detained  Mrs.  Toole  until  quite  late  in 
the  afternoon.  Now  little  Warren  is  convinced  that  good 
fortune  has  at  last  deigned  to  smile  upon  him. 


USE  PLACER  MINER  METHODS. 

Methods  of  the  California  placer  miner  were  used  by  the 
Chicago  police  in  recovering  the  valuables  lost  in  the  mad  rush 
for  safety  by  the  Iroquois  theater  fire  victims.  Big  wagon 
loads  of  dirt  and  ashes  taken  from  the  theater  floor  were  taken 
down  under  police  guard  to  a  basement  at  Lake  street  and 
Fifth  avenue.  There  a  placer  mining  outfit,  including  sieves 
and  gold  pans,  had  been  erected  and  City  Custodian  Dewitt  C. 
Cregier  thus  searched  for  valuables  in  the  rubbish. 


DAUGHTER  OF  A.  H.  REVELL  ESCAPES. 

Margaret  Revell,  daughter  of  Alexander  H.  Revell,  with  her 
friend,  Elizabeth  Harris,  accompanied  by  a  maidservant,  sat  in 
the  parquet  of  the  theater,  fortunately  next  to  the  aisle.  At 
the  first  alarm  they  were  swept  to  the  door  by  the  crowd,  and 
were  among  those  who  got  out  early,  escaping  with  only 
minor  bruises.  Mr.  Revell  was  among  the  early  searchers  on 
the  scene,  and  remained  giving  assistance  after  learning  of  the 
safety  of  his  daughter. 

PHILADELPHIA  PARTNER  IN  THEATER  HORRI- 
FIED. 

The  news  of  the  terrible  Chicago  calamity  was  a  severe  blow 
to  S.  A.  Nixon  of  Philadelphia,  part  owner  of  the  Iroquois 
theater.  When  tht  ntwi  wag  confirmed  ho  broke  down  and 
wept  bitterly. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  211 

Fred  G.  Nixon,  son  of  Mr.  Nixon,  said :  "We  were  at  the 
dinner  table  Wednesday  evening  when  the  telephone  bell  rang 
and  I  answered.  A  newspaper  man  told  me  that  the  Iroquois 
theater  in  Chicago  had  been  destroyed  and  many  persons  killed. 
I  could  not  believe  it  and  I  asked :  'Are  you  sure  it  was  the 
Iroquois?'  'Positive,'  came  the  answer.  My  father  had  paid 
no  attention  to  what  I  said,  but  the  word  'Iroquois'  attracted 
him,  and  as  I  returned  to  my  seat  he  asked :  'What  was  that 
you  said  about  the  Iroquois?'  'Oh,  nothing,'  I  replied,  trying 
to  be  calm. 

"But  my  face  betrayed  me.  The  news  had  paled  me,  and 
my  father,  suspecting  something  was  wrong,  insisted,  and  I 
told  him.  He  refused  to  believe  it  and  went  to  the  telephone 
to  satisfy  himself.  In  five  minutes  he  heard  the  worst.  Then 
he  collapsed  and  sobbed  like  a  child.  For  eight  hours  we  sat 
up  waiting  for  full  particulars,  and  at  3  o'clock  Thursday 
morning,  when  father  went  to  bed,  he  was  almost  a  nervous 
wreck." 

-. 

ALL  KENOSHA  IN  MOURNING. 

Next  to  Chicago  the  blow  of  death  at  the  Iroquois  fell 
heavier  on  Kenosha,  Wis.,  than  any  of  the  other  cities 
whose  residents  perished  in  the  disaster.  Two  of  the  leading 
manufacturers  of  the  city,  Willis  W.  Cooper  and  Charles  H. 
Cooper,  and  the  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  H.  Van  Ingen 
were  among  the  dead. 

Kenosha  was  in  deep  mourning.  Trade  was  practically  sus- 
pended and  the  people  gathered  on  the  streets  in  little  groups 
discussing  the  one  topic.  Four  bodies  were  brought  to  the 
city  on  the  evening  train,  and  a  crowd  of  over  a  thousand  peo- 
ple gathered  at  the  railway  station,  and  walked  in  silence 
through  the  streets  behind  the  hearses.  All  the  bodies  were 


212  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

taken  to  the  morgue,  from  which  place  they  will  be  removed  to 
the  stricken  homes. 

FIVE  OF  ONE  FAMILY  DEAD. 

The  story  of  the  wiping  out  of  the  children  of  H.  S.  Van 
Ingen,  the  former  manager  of  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Company 
in  Chicago,  and  a  resident  of  Kenosha,  is  one  of  the  saddest 
stories  of  the  tragedy.  Following  the  custom  established  years 
ago,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Ingen  and  their  five  children,  Grace, 
twenty-three  years  old;  Jack,  twenty;  Edward  L.,  nineteen; 
Margaret,  fourteen;  and  Elizabeth,  nine,  had  all  come  to  Chi- 
cago for  a  matinee  party.  Schuyler,  another  son,  the  sole  sur- 
vivor of  the  children,  was  to  join  the  family  for  a  dinner  and 
family  reunion  at  the  Wellington  hotel  after  the  matinee.  The 
seven  persons  were  seated  in  the  front  row  of  the  balcony 
when  the  panic  ensued,  and  Mr.  Van  Ingen,  marshaling  his 
little  force,  started  for  the  exit  at  the  aisle,  but  the  mighty 
crush  of  people  separated  the  parents  from  the  children,  and 
Mr.  Van  Ingen,  putting  his  arm  around  Mrs.  Van  Ingen,  car- 
ried her  one  way,  while  the  children  were  swept  the  other. 

The  last  Mr.  Van  Ingen  saw  of  the  children  was  when  Jack, 
the  oldest  boy,  took  his  little  sister,  Elizabeth,  in  his  arms  and 
shouted  to  his  father :  "You  save  mother  and  I'll  look  after  the 
rest."  In  another  moment  the  party,  including  the  children, 
was  trampled  down. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Ingen  started  to  return  to  the  theater  for 
the  children  and  both  of  them  were  fearfully  burned  in  the  at- 
tempt. The  bodies  of  the  two  boys  were  located  in  the  evening. 
Margaret  and  Elizabeth  were  found  the  next  day.  Grace,  the 
oldest  daughter,  and  one  of  the  best  known  young  women  of 
Kenosha,  was  identified  still  later.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Ingen, 
both  terribly  burned,  were  taken  to  the  Illinois  Hospital. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  213 

COOPER  BROTHERS  DEEPLY  MOURNED. 

Willis  Cooper  was  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  Kenosha. 
He  was  the  secretary  of  the  great  Twentieth  Century  move- 
ment in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  which  resulted  in 
$20,000,000  being-  raised  for  missions.  He  was  last  year  the 
prohibition  candidate  for  governor  of  Wisconsin,  and  was  re- 
cently elected  head  of  the  lay  delegation  of  the  Wisconsin 
churches  at  the  general  conference  of  the  Methodist  Church. 
Mr.  Cooper  was  a  millionaire,  and  his  gifts  to  church  charities 
often  exceeded  $10,000  a  year.  In  Kenosha  he  was  the  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  Chicago  Kenosha  Hosiery  Works,  the 
largest  stocking  making  plant  in  the  world. 

Charles  F.  Cooper,  his  brother,  was  the  factory  manager 
and  general  salesman  of  the  company.  He  was  the  president  of 
the  Kenosha  Manufacturers'  Association,  of  the  Kenosha  Hos- 
pital Association,  and  the  Masonic  Temple  Association.  He 
was  the  founder  of  profit-sharing  in  the  Kenosha  plant,  and 
under  his  direction  it  became  known  as  the  plant  "where  the 
life  of  the  worker  is  flooded  with  sunshine."  He  was  most 
popular  with  the  working  classes  in  Kenosha,  and  when  his 
body  was  taken  to  the  morgue  hundreds  of  men  and  women 
stood  with  uncovered  heads  while  it  passed. 

There  occurred  between  the  acts  at  the  Century  theater,  St. 
Louis,  on  New  Year's  night,  an  unusual  incident,  when  C.  H. 
Congdon,  of  Chicago,  arose  from  his  seat  and  related  incidents 
of  the  Iroquois  theater  tragedy. 

He  had  proceeded  only  for  a  few  minutes  when  some  one 
in  the  audience  began  singing  "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee," 
which  was  immediately  taken  up  by  the  whole  audience,  the 
orchestra  joining  in  with  the  accompaniment. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
SOCIETY  WOMEN  AND  GIRLS'  CLUBS. 


Miss  Charlotte  Plamondon,  daughter  of  the  vice-president 
of  the  Chicago  board  of  education,  who  waited  until  the  fire 
had  caught  in  the  curtains  over  the  front  box,  in  which  she  sat, 
before  attempting  to  get  out,  related  her  experience  at  the 
Chicago  Beach  Hotel : 

"I  can't  tell  you  how  I  escaped  the  awful  fate  of  others/' 
she  said.  "I  only  know  that  when  the  flames  began  t©  crackle 
over  my  head  and  dart  down  from  the  curtains  of  our  box 
I  leaped  over  the  railing  of  the  box  and  fell  in  the  arms  of  some 
man.  I  think  he  was  connected  with  the  theater,  for  he  imme- 
diately set  me  down  in  a  seat  and  told  me  to  be  quiet  for  a 
moment. 

SCREAMS  OF  TERROR  HEARD. 

"Then  I  think  I  lost  all  reason.  I  have  a  vague  recollection 
of  having  been  pushed  up  along  the  side  aisle  that  runs  by  the 
boxes.  It  was  as  quiet  as  death  for  a  moment.  The  great 
audience  rose  like  a  single  person,  but  no  sound  escaped  it  un- 
til those  in  front  were  wedged  in  the  doorway.  Then  a  scream 
of  terror  went  up  that  I  shall  never  forget.  It  rings  in  my 
ears  now.  Women  screamed  and  children  cried.  Men  were 
shouting  and  rushing  for  the  entrance,  leaping  over  the  pros- 
trate forms  of  children  and  women  and  carrying  others  down 
with  them. 

814 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  215 

"Back  of  me,  I  remember,  there  was  a  sheet  of  flame  that 
seemed  to  be  gathering  volume  and  reaching  out  for  us.  Then 
I  forgot  again,  and  not  until  the  crowd  surged  toward  the  wall 
and  caught  me  between  it  and  the  marble  pillar  did  I  realize 
what  the  danger  was.  The  pain  revived  me.  I  know  I  was 
almost  crushed  to  death,  but  it  didn't  hurt.  Nothing  could 
hurt,  with  the  screaming,  the  agonizing  cries  of  the  women  and 
children  ringing  in  your  ears. 

CHORUS  GIRLS  ESCAPE  PARTLY  CLAD. 

"And  then,  somehow,  I  found  myself  out  on  the  street  and 
the  dead  and  dying  were  around  me.  When  I  realized  that  I 
was  out  of  the  place  and  safe  from  the  fire  and  crush,  all  my 
strength  seemed  to  leave  me.  But  the  cold  air  braced  me  after 
a  moment  and  I  went  around  to  the  drug  store,  where  the  dead 
were  being  brought  in  and  the  poor  actresses  and  chorus  girls 
were  coming  in  with  scarcely  anything  on  them. 

"I  never  felt  as  I  did  when  it  dawned  upon  us  that  the 
theater  was  on  fire.  It  seemed  like  a  dream  at  first.  The 
border  curtain  right  near  our  box  blew  back,  and  I  think  it  hit 
a  light  or  something,  for  when  it  fell  back  into  place  I  saw  it 
was  on  fire.  , 

"The  chorus  girls  kept  right  on  singing  for  a  couple  of 
minutes,  it  seemed.  Then  one  of  the  stage  men  rushed  out  and 
shouted :  'Keep  your  seats.'  N 

"Oh,  the  stage  men  behaved  like  heroes!  As  I  think  of  it 
now,  they  conducted  themselves  with  rare  courage.  I  saw  a 
couple  of  the  girls  fall  down,  and  I  knew  that  they  were  over- 
come. 

FOY  TRIES  TO  PREVENT  PANIC. 

"Just  then  Eddie  Foy  ran  out  on  the  stage,  partly  made  up, 
and  cried: 


2i6  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

"  'My  God,  people,  keep  your  seats !' 

"When  Foy  said  this  I  regained  my  senses,  and  when  the 
asbestos  curtain  did  not  come  down  I  felt  that  the  situation 
was  critical.  The  flames  had  taken  hold  of  the  front  row  of 
seats  behind  the  orchestra  and  were  creeping  up  the  curtains 
over  our  box,  when  I  jumped  to  my  feet  and  leaped  over  the 
railing. 

"I  saw  the  children  lying  in  heaps  under  our  feet.  Their 
little  lives  were  ended,  and  rough  feet  were  bruising  their  flesh ; 
and  such  inno'ceiit  children!  Men  leaped  over  the  rows  of 
prostrate  forms  and  fought  like  they  were  mad,  trying  to  get 
out  of  the  entrance." 

ESCAPE  OF  ANOTHER  SOCIETY  WOMAN. 

Mrs.  A.  Sorge,  Jr.,  whose  husband  is  a  consulting  engineer, 
with  offices  in  the  Monadnock  Building,  and  who  lives  at  the 
Chicago  Beach  Hotel,  attended  the  theater  in  company  with 
Dr.  Jager,  who  is  a  guest  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sorge.  They  occu- 
pied a  seat  well  down  in  the  parquet. 

"When  the  fire  started,"  said  Mrs.  Sorge,  "persons  on  the 
stage  told  us  to  keep  our  seats.  Dr.  Jager  also  told  me  to  sit 
still,  and  we  did  until  the  flames  began  to  come  near  us.  Then 
we  clasped  hands  and  started  for  the  door. 

"I  was  not  half  so  much  afraid  of  the  fire  as  I  was  of  being 
crushed  to  death,  and  I  tried  in  every  way  to  keep  out  of  the 
crush.  Dr.  Jager  got  separated  from  me  by  catching  his  foot 
in  an  upturned  chair,  but  he  soon  found  me.  We  later  man- 
aged to  get  out  on  the  street  without  suffering  any  injuries  of  a 
serious  nature. 

"The  saddest  thing  I  saw  inside  the  burning  building  was 
a  little  girl  looking  for  her  baby  sister.  The  two  had  got 
separated  in  the  rush  for  the  entrance,  and  it  is  quite  likely 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  217 

that  both  were  killed  in  that  crush,  for  it  was  something 
awful/' 

MINNEAPOLIS  WOMAN'S  STORY  OF  THE  FIRE. 
Mrs.  Baldwin,  wife  of  Dr.  F.  R.  Baldwin  of  Minneapolis, 
immediately  after  her  return  from  the  scene  of  the  awful  Chi- 
cago catastrophe,  through  which  she  had  passed,  overwhelmed 
with  the  horror  of  the  sights  and  sounds  she  had  seen  and 
heard,  gave  the  following  account : 

"It  was  too  unutterably  shocking  for  one  to  realize  at  the 
time.  The  horror  of  the  thing  has  grown  upon  me  ever  since. 
It  fills  my  mind  and  imagination,  so  I  can  hardly  think  of 
anything  else.  I  cannot  help  feeling  almost  ashamed  to  be 
here,  safe  and  unharmed,  while  whole  families  were  burned 
and  crushed  to  death  in  that  awful  place.  I  cannot  say  how 
glad  I  am  to  be  home  and  see  my  babies*  safe,  when  so  many 
mothers  are  crying  aloud  in  Chicago  for  their  children  to 
come  back  to  them. 

"At  first  nobody  seemed  to  realize  the  awful  danger.  No 
water  was  used  to  put  out  the  flames  on  the  stage.  It  was 
only  flimsy,  gauzy  scenery  at  first  that  was  burning,  and  the 
people  on  the  stage  tried  to  tear  it  down  and  stamp  it  out  as 
it  fell.  I  heard  no  screams,  and  the  people  for  many  moments 
kept  their  seats.  I  did  not  hear  the  cry  of  'fire.' 

"But  all  at  once  a  great  ball  of  fire  or  sheet  of  flame — I 
don't  know  how  to  express  it — shot  out  and  the  whole  theater 
above  us  seemed  to  be  full  of  fire.  Then  there  was  a  smothered 
sound  as  of  a  sighing  by  all  in  the  theater. 

"By  that  time  I  began  to  realize  that  it  was  time  to  see  what 
could  be  done  about  getting  out.  It  so  happened  that  I  could 
not  have  chosen  a  better  place  from  which  to  get  out  of  the 
building.  jJA[e  were  on  the  alley  side,  opposite  the  Randolph 


-2i8  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

street  side  of  the  building,  and  only  two  seats  from  the 
wall. 

"I  did  not  know  that  there  was  an  entrance  here,  but  all 
at  once  the  doors  seemed  to  be  opened  close  to  us.  We  had  but 
to  take  two  or  three  steps  and  then  were  thrown  forward  out 
of  the  doors  by  the  crowd  behind  us.  My  mother,  who  was 
with  me,  was  unhurt,  and  I  had  but  a  few  bruises. 

"One  of  the  first  things  I  saw  as  I  got  up  was  a  girl  lying 
on  one  of  the  fire  escape  platforms  with  the  flames  shooting 
over  her  through  the  window.  One  man,  who  jumped  from 
the  platform,  had  not  taken  two  steps  before  a  woman  who 
jumped  a  moment  later  from  a  height  of  about  forty  feet  came 
right  down  upon  him,  killing  him  upon  the  spot 

"The  sights  all  about  the  city  have  been  many  times  de- 
scribed, but  nothing  can  picture  those  terrible  scenes.  In  a 
flat  just  below  my  mother's  five  out  of  a  family  of  six  perished, 
leaving  but  one  demented  girl. 

"Of  another  family  living  near  us,  only  the  husband  and 
father  was  left,  his  wife  and  four  boys  and  his  mother  all  hav- 
ing been  killed  in  the  fire.  As  I  passed  near  the  theater  the 
next  day  I  saw  a  man  walking  up  and  down  in  front  of  the 
building  muttering  to  himself,  and  every  now  and  then  he 
would  sit  upon  the  curb  and  look  up  at  the  building,  breaking 
out  into  peals  of  laughter.  He  had  been  through  the  fire." 

GIRLS'  CLUBS  SORELY  STRICKEN. 

Mrs.  Walter  Raymer,  wife  of  the  alderman,  attended  the 
Iroquois  in  charge  of  the  "F.  P.  C,"  a  club  of  young  girls, 
of  which  her  daughter  was  treasurer.  Of  the  eight  members 
only  two  escaped  uninjured.  Miss  Mabel  Hunter,  the  president, 
was  killed;  Miss  Edna  Hunter  was  taken  to  her  residence,  85 
Humboldt  boulevard,  severely  injured;  Miss  Lillian  Ackerman 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  219 

was  borne  to  the  Samaritan  Hospital,  burned  about  the  head 
and  body. 

Edna  Hoveland  was  badly  injured,  and  her  little  sister,  who 
accompanied  her,  was  burned  to  death.  May  Marks  is  dead. 
Viva  Jackson,  missing  all  Wednesday  night,  was  found  in  the 
morning  at  an  undertaker's  rooms.  The  two  who  escaped 
injury  were  Miss  Abigail  Raymer,  daughter  of  the  alderman, 
and  Miss  Florence  Nicholson. 

The  eight  girls,  all  between  sixteen  and  eighteen  years  old, 
had  organized  their  little  club  a  fewr  weeks  ago  for  the  purpose 
of  literary  study  and  recreation,  and  the  theater  party  was 
arranged  by  Mrs.  Raymer  as  a  surprise  for  the  members. 

The  Tlieta  Pi  Zeta  club  of  the  junior  class  of  the  Engle- 
wood  High  School,  with  the  exception  of  two  members,  was 
wiped  out  of  existence.  The  club  was  composed  of  eight 
young  women  living  in  Englewood  and  Normal  Park.  Seven 

had  purchased  seats  in  the  sixth  row  of  the  dress  circle.  What 
they  encountered  after  the  panic  started  no  one  knows,  for 

of  the  seven  only  one,  Miss  Josephine  Spencer,  7110  Princeton 
avenue,  was  saved  and  she  was  taken  to  the  West. Side  Hos- 
pital terribly  burned.  The  only  member  who  entirely  escaped 
was  Miss  Edith  Mizen  of  6917  Eggleston  avenue,  daughter 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  K.  Mizen.  Her  parents  objected  to 
her  attending  a  theatrical  performance. 

Those  who  perished  are  Helen  Howard,  6565  Yale  avenue ; 
Helen  McCaughan,  6565  Yale  avenue;  Elvira  Olson,  7010 
Stewart  avenue;  Florence  Oxnam,  435  Englewood  avenue; 
Lillie  Power,  442  West  Seventieth  street;  and  Rosamond 
Schmidt,  335  West  Sixty-first  street. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


EDDIE  FOY'S  SWORN  TESTIMONY. 

Eddie  Foy,  whose  real  name  is  Edwin  Fitzgerald,  has  faced 
many  audiences  under  all  conditions  and  circumstances  during 
his  stage  career  of  a  quarter  of  a  century,  during  which  he  rose 
from  a  street  urchin  to  the  distinction  of  one  of  America's  most 
entertaining  and  unctuous  comedians.  Never  before  had  such 
interest  centered  in  his  appearance  as  when  on  Thursday  after- 
noon, January  7,  1904,  he  took  the  witness  stand  to  relate  un- 
der oath  what  he  knew  concerning  the  calamity  of  the  preced- 
ing week. 

The  actor's  face  was  a  study.  His  deep-lined  countenance, 
ordinarily  irresistibly  funny  without  effort  on  his  part,  took 
on  a  truly  tragic  aspect  as  he  entered  upon  his  story.  His  in- 
describable, husky  voice  that  has  made  hundreds  of  thousands 
laugh  with  merriment,  was  broken ;  there  was  no  suggestion  of 
humor  in  it.  Instead  it  was  a  wail  from  the  tomb,  the  utter- 
ance of  a  man  broken  with  the  weight  of  the  woe  he  had  be- 
held in  a  few  brief,  fleeting  moments. 

The  questions  were  propounded  by  Coroner  Tracker  and 
Major  Lawrence  Buckley,  his  chief  deputy,  and  were  promptly 
and  fully  answered  by  the  comedian. 

The  full  text,  as  secured  through  a  stenographic  report, 

* 

follows : 

Q.  Will  you  kindly  tell  us,  Mr.  Foy,  or  Fitzgerald,  in 
your  own  way,  what  transpired  ? 

A.  Well,  I  went  to  the  matinee  with  my  little  boy,  six 
years  old,  and  I  wanted  to  put  him  in  the  front  of  the  theater 

220 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  221 

to  see  the  show.  I  sent  him  out  before  the  first  act  by  the 
stage  manager,  and  he  took  him  out  and  brought  him  back 
and  said  there  were  no  seats.  I  sent  him  downstairs  and  put 
him  in  a  little  alcove  that  is  next  to  the  switchboard,  under- 
neath where  they  claim  the  fire  started,  and  where  I  saw  the 
fire  first. 

Q.     That  is  on  what  side  of  the  stage? 

A.  On  my  right  facing  the  audience.  On  the  south  side 
of  the  stage.  The  second  act  was  on.  I  was  in  my  dressing- 
room  tying  my  shoes,  and  I  heard  a  noise,  and  I  didn't  pay 
much  attention  to  it  at  first.  I  says  to  myself,  "Are  they 
fighting  again  down  there" — there  was  a  fight  there  about  a 
week  or  two  ago;  and  I  says,  "They  are  fighting  again."  I 
looked  out  of  the,  door  and  heard  the  buzz  getting  stronger 
and  stronger,  with  this  excitement,  and  I  thought  of  my  boy 
and  I  ran  down  the  steps.  I  was  in  the  middle  dressing-room 
on  the  side,  and  I  ran  down  screaming  "Bryan."  I  got  him  at 
the  first  entrance  right  in  front  of  the  switchboard,  and  looked 
up  and  saw  a  fireman  there.  I  don't  know  what  he  was  doing ; 
he  was  trying  to  put  the  fire  out.  Then  the  two  lower  borders 
running  up  the  side  of  this  canvas  were  burning.  I  grabbed 
my  boy  and  rushed  to  the  back  door,  and  there  was  a  lot  of 
people  trying  to  get  out. 

DESCRIBES  STAGE  BOX. 

Q.  What  door? 

A.  The  little  stage  door  on  Dearborn  street. 

Q.  How  did  you  find  that  door — was  it  open? 

A.  No.    I  knew  where  the  door  was. 

Q.  Was  the  door  open  when  you  got  there? 

A.  Yes;  they  were  breaking  through  it. 

Q.  Who? 


222 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


A.     All  of  our  people. 

Q.     Employees  on  the  stage? 

A.  Not  many  of  them.  It  was  crowded  there,  and  I  threw 
my  boy  to  a  man.  I  says:  "Take  this  boy  out,"  and  ran  out 
on  the  footlights  to  the  audience.  When  I  did  they  were  in  a 
sort  of  panic,  as  I  thought,  and  what  I  said  exactly  I  don't 
remember,  but  this  was  the  substance — my  idea  was  to  get  the 
curtain  down  and  quietly  stop  the  stampede.  I  yelled,  "Drop 
the  curtain  and  keep  up  your  music."  I  didn't  want  a  stam- 
pede, because  it  was  the  biggest  audience  I  ever  played  to  of 
tvomen  and  children.  I  told  them  to  be  quiet  and  take  it  easy 
— "Don't  get  excited" — and  they  started  up  on  this  second 
balcony  on  my  left  to  run,  and  I  says,  "Sit  down;  it  is  all 
right;  don't  get  excited."  And  they  were  going  that  way, 
and  I  said  to  the  policeman,  "Let  them  out  quietly,"  and  they 
moved  then,  and  I  says,  "Let  down  the  curtain,"  and  I  looked 
up  and  this  curtain  was  burning — the  fringe  on  the  edge  of  it. 

WOULD  NOT  COME  DOWN. 

O.     It  was  caught,  was  it? 

A.     It  did  not  come  down. 

Q.     How  near  to  the  bottom  of  the  stage  was  it  ? 

A.  Three  feet  above  my  head.  I  would  have  been  outside  if 
the  curtain  had  come  down. 

Q.     It  was  lowered  down  after  you  hallooed? 

A.     I  hallooed  for  it  to  come  down. 

O.     And  it  came  down  that  far  and  then  caught  ? 

A.  I  did  not  see  it  come  down,  but  it  was  there  when  I 
looked  up. 

Q.     When  you  looked  up  it  was  caught,  was  it  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  it  must  have  been  caught — it  didn't  come 
-Wn,  Then  when  I  was  hallooing,  I  kept  hallooing  for  the 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  223 

curtain  to  come  down — how  many  times  I  don't  know — and 
talked  to  this  man  to  let  them  out  quietly,  there  was  a  sort  of  a 
cyclone ;  the  thing  was  flying  behind  me ;  I  felt  it  coming. 

Q.     What  do  you  mean  by  a  cyclone — cyclone  of  what  ? 

A.  It  was  a  whirl  of  smoke  when  I  looked  around — the 
scenery  had  broken  the  slats  it  was  nailed  to ;  it  came  down  be- 
hind me,  and  I  didn't  know  whether  to  go  in  front  or  behind. 
The  stage  was  covered  with  smoke,  and  it  was  a  cold  draft, 
and  there  was  an  explosion  of  some  kind  like  you  light  a 
match  and  the  box  goes  off.  I  didn't  know  whether  to  go  front 
or  not,  so  I  thought  of  my  boy — maybe  the  man  did  not  take 
him  out — so  I  rushed  out  the  first  thing  and  went  back  of  the 

\ 

stage. 

Q.     You  went  out  yourself,  then? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  and  I  was  looking  for  my  boy  all  the  way  in. 
I  wasn't  sure  he  was  out.  I  found  him  in  the  street. 

Q.     Do  you  know  what  started  the  fire,  Air.  Fitzgerald  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

LIGHT  NEAR  THE  FIRE. 

Q.  Was  there  any  light  of  any  kind  near  where  you  first 
saw  the  fire? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     What  kind  of  a  light? 

A.  A  lens  light — one  that  you  throw  spot  light  on  people 
with. 

Q.     How  close  was  that  to  the  drop  that  was  on  fire  ? 

A.  That  I  could  not  tell — there  were  three  or  four  drops  on 
fire  when  I  got  there  for  the  boy. 

Q.     They  were  all  close  together? 

A.    Yes. 

Q.     Too  high  up  for  anybody  to  reach? 


224 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


A.     Impossible. 

Q.  Were  there  any  other  fires  of  any  kind,  fires  or  lights, 
near  those  drops  or  the  fire,  besides  this  drop  light? 

A.     That  was  the  only  one  I  saw. 

Q.  Then  there  would  not  be  anything  else  able  to  ignite 
those  drops,  only  this  light? 

A.     I  should  think  so,  yes. 

Q.  You  are  satisfied  in  your  own  mind  that  it  was  caused 
from  that  light. 

A.     That  it  was  caused  from  that  light. 

Q.  You  have  been  playing  there  in  the  theater  since  "Mr. 
Bluebeard,  Jr.,"  started,  or  since  the  theater  opened,  haven't 
you? 

A.    Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  drill  or  any  precautions  that  were 
taken  by  the  management  or  parties  in  charge  of  the  theater  in 
emergency  cases  in  the  case  of  fire — that  is,  drilling  or  hand- 
ling the  employees  as  to  what  they  should  do  in  case  of  fire? 

A.  .  No.  I  know  I  couldn't  smoke  in  the  theater;  the  police- 
man was  around  there  all  the  time  in  the  dressing-rooms. 

SAW  NO  EXTINGUISHERS. 

Q.  Did  you  notice  any  fire  extinguishers  of  any  kind  on  the 
stage  ? 

A.     No,  sir,  I  did  not. 

Q.     Any  appliances  of  any  kind  to  be  used  in  case  of  fire  ? 

A.     No,  I  don't  think  I  did;  there  might  have  been. 

Q.  Did  you  notice  any  fire  extinguishers  in  your  dressing- 
room? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Did  you  ever  notice  while  in  the  theater  whether  there 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  225 

was  any  policeman  or  fireman  stationed  on  the  stage  or  around 
the  stage  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  there  was  a  fireman  there  always  on  the 
stage. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  while  in  the  theater  of  an  asbestos 
curtain  there? 

A.     I  cannot  say  that  I  did. 

Q.    Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  fireproof  curtain  there? 

A.    Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  it  take  long  for  this  curtain  that  you  say  was  down 
and  stuck  to  burn  ? 

A.  I  couldn't  stay  there  long  enough  to  see  if  it  was  burn- 
ing— it  was  on  fire.  • 

Q.    You  have  had  a  good  deal  of  experience  in  theaters? 

A.    Thirty-five  years. 

Q.  Would  you  consider  that  there  was  as  good  a  protec- 
tion taken  at  the  Iroquois  theater  as  there  was  in  the  average 
theater  throughout  the  country  in  cases  of  fire? 

A.     You  mean  in  the  construction  of  the  theater? 

Q.  Not  the  construction,  but  I  would  say  in  the  manage- 
ment, and  in  the  furnishing  of  fire  extinguishers  and  appli- 
ances to  extinguish  fires. 

A.  Well,  I  never  took  notice  of  the  fire  extinguisher.  If 
a  man  would  look  at  that  stage  he  would  naturally  think  they 
couldn't  possibly  have  a  fire  without  everybody  getting  out  in 
front  of  the  theater. 

Q.  I  didn't  ask  you  that.  My  question  was,  in  your  ex- 
perience in  traveling  through  the  theaters  in  different  cities, 
would  you  consider  there  was  as  good  protection  taken  on  the 
Iroquois  stage  to  extinguish  fire,  as  there  was  in  the  average 
theater  throughout  the  country? 


226 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


A.     Well,  I  couldn't  say;  I  never  took  notice  of  what  was 
on  the  stage  to  extinguish  fires. 
Q.     Did  you  at  any  other  theater  ? 
A.     Well,  I  have  seen  fire  extinguishers  around  at  times. 

TALKS  OF  APPARATUS. 

Q.  In  theaters  where  you  have  noticed  these  fire  extin- 
guishers, what  part  of  the  theater  did  you  see  them  in  ? 

A.  Well,  they  were  fire  extinguishers  like  a  man  would  put 
on  his  back,  with  a  strap  to  it. 

Q.    Where  were  they? 

A.     On  the  platform  in  the  theater. 

Q.  Did  you  notice  anything  of  that  kind  at  the  Iroquois 
theater? 

A.     No,  sir,  I  did  not;  I  cannot  say  that  I  did. 

Q.  Now,  if  you  did  not  see  those  appliances,  you  did  not 
see  them  when  you  went  in  the  stage  entrance? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.    You  cay  you  saw  them  in  other  stage  entrances? 

A.    Yes,  sir. 

Q.    You  didn't  see  them  at  the  Iroquois  theater? 

A.     No,  sir,  not  any  time  I  was  there. 

Q.  Did  you  see  any  hose  of  any  kind  that  could  be  used  in 
cases  of  fire? 

A.    I  don't  know  whether  there  was  any;  I  didn't  see  any. 

Q.  Did  you  know  of  any  other  fire  that  occurred  in  the 
theater  previous  to  this  one? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.    You  have  been  with  the  company  for  how  long? 

A.  I  played  right  along  with  it  in  Wisconsin  and  New 
York  last  season,  and  opened  in  Pittsburg  with  it  and  have  been 
with  it  ever  since. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  227 

Q.  Did  you  play  at  Cleveland  ? 

'A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  the  date  of  the  fire  in  Cleveland? 

A.  I  don't  know  the  date ;  there  was  a  fire  on  the  stage. 

Q.  Was  the  cause  the  same  as  at  this  fire  ? 

A.  No;  the  flies  caught  fire  at  this  fire.  This  was  on  the 
stage.  They  could  not  get  at  this  fire. 

Q.  What  caused  it? 

A.  That  I  don't  know,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  consider  it  a  dangerous  lot  of  scenery  to  travel 
with,  lights  and  scenery  combined? 

A.  I  don't  know;  I  consider  all  scenery  dangerous. 

Q.  Did  you  consider  this  dangerous? 

A.  No,  sir. 

ONLY  ONE  EXIT  OPEN. 

Q.     Were  both  of  the  exits  on  the  stage  open  ? 

A.  Only  one  door,  a  little  door  that  we  go  through  always 
was  open  when  I  went  out. 

Question  by  Foreman  Meyer  of  the  Jury :  Mr.  Foy,  when 
you  came  out  to  the  footlights  to  try  tp  quiet  the  people  and 
you  cried  for  the  curtain  to  come  down,  did  you  see  the  curtain 
come  down? 

A.  I  did  not  see  the  curtain  come  down.  I  screamed  for 
the  curtain  to  come  down,  and  I  told  the  orchestra  to  keep  up 
the  music,  and  then  I  addressed  the  audience,  thinking  I  would 
get  the  curtain  down.  I  would  have  been  in  front  of  the  cur- 
tain if  it  came  down. 

Q.     You  said  at  the  same  time  you  looked  around? 

A.     I  looked  around,  yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  the  color  of  the  curtain  as  you  looked 
at  it? 


228 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


A.    I  couldn't  tell  the  color.    It  was  right  over  my  head. 

Q.  Could  you  tell  from  any  observation  at  any  time  before 
that? 

A.    No,  sir. 

Question  by  Juror  Cummings :  When  you  counseled  the 
audience  to  keep  quiet  were  you  working  on  the  assumption 
that  there  was  a  fire  brigade  on  the  stage? 

A.  Well,  my  idea  was  to  get  the  curtain  down  and  stop 
the  panic.  The  audience  was  composed  of  women  and 
children. 

Question  by  Deputy  Buckley :  From  the  time  that  you  first 
heard  the  noise,  when  you  were  in  the  dressing-room  until  you 
got  out,  about  what  time  elapsed? 

A.  Well,  I  have  been  trying  to  figure  that  out  in  my  own 
mind.  I  don't  think  it  was  ninety  seconds. 

WIRE  ACROSS  AUDITORIUM. 

Q.  Do  you  know,  Mr.  Foy,  whether  there  was  a  wire  ex- 
tending from  the  stage  across  the  auditorium  to  any  of  the 
balconies  or  any  part  of  the  theater  or  auditorium  outside? 

A.    Yes,  sir. 

Q.    Where  was  that  wire  located? 

A.  The  wire  hung  from  the  center  of  the  auditorium  to 
the  side  of  the  stage,  to  where  the  fire,  they  say,  started,  on 
my  right-hand  side  facing  the  audience. 

Q.  Was  that  the  side  of  the  stage  where  the  curtain  was 
caught? 

A.  I  could  not  say.  I  have  been  trying  to  fix  that  in  my 
mind. 

Q.  You  cannot  say  whether  it  was  hung  on  the  wire  on 
the  right  or  left  hand  side  ? 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  229 

A.  No,  sir.  I  should  not  think  that  it  had  anything  to  do 
with  it. 

Q.     Was  that  stationary? 

A.  It  hung  from  the  front,  and  it  was  unhooked  and  put  on 
the  woman  when  she  went  out  in  the  air. 

Q.     Did  any  part  of  it  go  behind  the  curtain  ? 

A.  Yes,  it  went  behind  the  curtain,  but  that  could  not  have 
possibly  stopped  it,  because  it  would  have  broken  it.  I  don't 
think  the  curtain  was  low  enough  down  to  touch  it,  because 
the  girl  is  only  a  little  girl,  Miss  Reed,  and  they  had  to  hook  it 
on  her. 

Q.     About  how  high  up  was  the  wire? 

A.  Well,  so  that  a  man  like  the  stage  manager  would  take 
it  off  and  the  man  that  was  assisting  in  this  flying  ballet  would 
hook  it  on  this  little  girl  that  flew  out. 

Q.     She  was  killed? 

A.     She  was  killed. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


EFFECT  OF  THE  FIRE  NEAR  AND  FAR. 

Many  of  the  members  of  the  "Mr.  Bluebeard,  Jr.,"  company 
were  arrested  and  retained  as  witnesses  in  the  trial,  on  a  charge 
of  manslaughter,  of  Messrs.  Davis  and  Powers,  Building  Com- 
missioner Williams  and  the  stage  manager,  electricians  and 
carpenters  especially  concerned  in  the  manipulation  of  the 
lights  and  curtains.  On  the  Saturday  night  succeeding  the  fire 
Mayor  Harrison  closed  all  the  theaters  in  the  city,  numbering 
thirty-seven,  for  a  period  of  two  weeks,  or  until  a  thorough 
investigation  could  be  made  as  to  whether  they  were  comply- 
ing with  the  city  ordinances  in  every  detail. 

People  with  seat  checks  were  turned  away  from  the  doors  of 
the  theaters.  Even  the  fireproof  Auditorium  was  not  per- 
mitted to  remain  open,  and  Theodore  Thomas  and  his  musi- 
cians returned  to  their  homes  without  playing. 

Theatrical  people  in  the  dressing-rooms  of  the  theaters  took 
off  their  makeup  and  left.  Ushers  turned  out  the  lights  and 
the  managers  locked  the  doors.  It  was  a  condition  without 
precedent  in  any  large  city  of  this  or  any  other  country — 
every  public  place  of  theatrical  amusement  closed  by  com- 
mand, as  the  result  of  a  great  disaster. 

And  not  only  did  the  terrible  calamity  close  every  theater 
in  Chicago,  but  it  sent  the  city  authorities,  fire  inspectors, 
aldermen  and  all,  scurrying  through  the  city,  examining  the 
big  department  stores  and  their  means  of  escape  for  their  thou- 
sands of  employees.  The  alarm  and  inspection  also  extended 

230 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  231 

to  the  public  schools  of  the  city.  Nor  was  the  awful  upheaval 
felt  with  startling  force  only  at  home,  but  like  an  earthquake 
its  vibrations  reached  distant  cities  and  countries.  The  mon- 
archs  of  Europe,  with  the  great  public  men  of  America,  sent 
words  of  sympathy  over  the  throbbing  wires,  those  which 
came  from  Emperor  William  being : 

"NEUES  PALAIS,  Dec.  31. — To  the  President  of  the  United 
States :  Aghast  at  the  terrible  news  of  the  catastrophe  that  has 
befallen  the  citizens  of  Chicago  the  empress  and  myself  wish 
to  convey  to  you  how  deeply  we  feel  for  the  American  people 
who  have  been  so  cruelly  visited  in  this  week  of  joy.  Please 
convey  expression  of  our  sincerest  sympathy  to  the  city  of 
Chicago.  Many  thanks  for  your  kind  letter.  In  coming  years 
may  Providence  shield  you  and  America  from  harm  and  such 
accidents.  WILHELM  I.  R." 

Within  a  few  days  there  was  abundant  evidence  that  pro- 
found sympathy  had  given  place,  in  all  the  large  cities  of  the 
world,  to  practical  endeavors  to  avert  like  calamities. 

NEW  YORK  THEATERS  AND  SCHOOLS. 

As  his  first  official  act,  Nicholas  J.  Hayes,  who  on  New 
Year's  became  fire  commissioner  of  New  York,  ordered  an  in- 
vestigation of  all  the  theaters  of  that  city.  He  declared  that 
he  intended  to  ascertain  whether  the  New  York  playhouses 
were  so  constructed  and  equipped  as  to  safeguard  human  life 
in  case  of  fire  or  panic. 

"The  protection  of  human  life  is  the  first  and  most  import- 
ant duty  of  the  fire  commissioner,"  said  Mr.  Hayes.  "In  this 
work  no  one  shall  hinder  me  from  doing  my  full  duty." 

In  each  battalion  district  where  a  theater  was  located  the  new 
fire  commissioner  designated  a  competent  assistant  foreman 
as  theater  inspector  and  provided  for  weekly  inspection  of 


232  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

i 
theaters.     These  inspectors  were  under  the  supervision  of  a 

general  theater  inspector.  One  of  the  tests  at  once  applied  by 
Commissioner  Hayes  was  to  have  the  inspector  pour  gasoline 
on  the  asbestos  curtain  and  then  apply  fire.  Several  houses 
were  at  once  closed,  as  the  curtains  failed  to  stand  the  test. 

City  Superintendent  of  Schools  Maxwell,  of  New  York, 
also  issued  special  fire  instructions  to  the  district  superinten- 
dents and  principals  of  schools,  whom  he  directed  to  perfect 
fire  drills  and  the  rapid  dismissal  of  school  children  under  their 
care. 

CRUSADE  IN  PITTSBURG. 

The  Pittsburg  department  of  public  safety  immediately 
began  a  crusade  against  the  violation  of  the  ordinances  re- 
garding theater  construction  and  equipment.  Managers  were 
compelled  to  arrange  their  fire  escapes,  curtains  and  apparatus 
so  that  everything  worked  with  facility.  At  the  Nixon  theater, 
at  the  close  of  a  performance,  the  people  were  rapidly  dismissed 
after  a  fire  alarm,  and  ushered  out  into  the  alley  exits  and  down 
fire  escapes  in  two  and  one-half  minutes.  Other  theaters  were 
put  through  similar  drills. 

WASHINGTON    THEATER    OWNERS    ARRESTED, 

Warrants  were  issued  for  the  arrest  of  the  proprietors  of 
three  of  the  seven  Washington  theaters.  Failure  to  comply 
with  building  regulations  in  making  improvements  resulted  in 
the  withholding  of  the  license  of  one  theater.  The  two  other 
proprietors  were  arrested  for  failure  to  provide  proper  exit 
lights,  fire  escapes  and  stage  stairways. 

MASSACHUSETTS  THEATERS  INVESTIGATED. 

As  a  result  of  the  fire  Chief  Rufus  R.  Wade,  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts state  police,  at  once  issued  orders  for  his  inspectors 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  233 

to  make  immediate  and  thorough  inspection  of  every  theater 
in  the  commonwealth  outside  of  Boston.  The  statutes  give  no 
jurisdiction  over  Boston,  but  his  orders  meant  that  more  fhan 
100  theaters  under  his  supervision  would  receive  immediate 
attention. 

The  Chicago  theater  horror  caused  such  a  decreased  attend- 
ance at  Boston  theaters  as  to  mean  comparatively  empty  houses 
for  some  time  afterward.  Huge^reas  of  vacant  seats  were  to 
be  observed  and  the  crowds  at  theater  exits  at  10:45  were 
prominent  for  their  absence. 

ACTION  IN  MILWAUKEE. 

Spurred  to  action  by  the  theater  horror  in  Chicago,  the  city 
officials  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  closed  four  theaters.  The 
orders  to  darken  the  houses  followed  an  investigation  by  the 
chief  of  the  fire  department.  In  the  Academy  and  the  Bijou, 
popular-priced  houses,  and  in  the  two  vaudeville  houses,  the 
Star  and  the  Crystal,  the  chief  found  the  "fire"  curtains  were 
made  of  thin  canvas. 

PRECAUTIONS  AT  ST.  LOUIS. 

In  St.  Louis  the  commissioner  of  public  buildings  and  the 
chief  of  the  fire  department  served  notice  on  theater  managers 
that  the  provisions  of  the  city  ordinances  designed  to  prevent 
fire  and  panic  must  be  rigidly  carried  out.  A  new  ordinance 
revising  the  building  laws  was  at  once  laid  before  the  city  coun- 
cil. One  of  its  new  features  insists  on  a  metal  skylight  or  fire 
vent  over  the  stage.  This  vent  must  be  so  constructed  as  to  open 
instantly  and  automatically.  Fire  Chief  Swingle  sent  notice 
to  the  managers  that  all  aisles  must  be  kept  cleared. 


234  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

ORDERS  AFFECTING  OMAHA  THEATERS. 

Building  Inspector  Withnell  ordered  several  radical  changes 
in  theaters  and  large  department  stores  as  a  result  of  the  fire. 
All  the  theaters  were  required  to  increase  their  exit  facilities, 
and  one  theater  was  ordered  to  put  in  additional  aisles  and  re- 
move 150  rear  seats  in  the  parquet  circle  and  balconies,  which 
would  interfere  with  a  free  exit  in  case  of  panic.  Asbestos 
curtains  were  ordered  into  use  at  all  the  theaters. 

EFFECT  ABROAD. 

The  news  of  the  awful  calamity  shocked  the  great  cities 
of  Europe  beyond  expression,  and  its  discussion  excluded  even 
such  large  agitating  questions  as  the  Eastern — possible  war 
between  Japan  and  Russia,  which  might  involve  the  entire 
Old  World.  The  so-called  American  colonies  of  London,, 
Paris  and  Berlin  were  especially  shocked,  many  members  of 
whom  sought  for  news  of  friends  and  relatives  who  might  be 
among  the  list  of  dead  or  injured.  As  the  complete  list  could 
not  be  cabled  for  several  days  thereafter  their  suspense  was,  in 
many  cases,  unbearable,  and  scores  took  the  first  steamers  for 
America. 

HORROR  FELT  IN  LONDON. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  the  first  news  all  local  and  foreign  topics 
of  interest  were  forgotten  in  London  in  the  universal  horror 
over  the  tragedy.  The  extra  editions  of  the  newspapers  giving 
the  latest  details  were  eagerly  bought  up  and  newspaper  pla- 
cards bore  in  flaring  type  the  announcement  of  further  news 
from  Chicago.  The  flags  over  the  American  steamship  offices 
were  half-masted. 

The  accounts  of  the  deadly  panic  were  read  by  the  English 
people  with  peculiar  sympathy  and  horror,  for  the  pantomime 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  235 

season  was  at  its  height  and  the  London  theaters  were  daily 
packed  with  women  and  children. 

Yet  certainly  the  first  night  after  the  news  was  generally 
known,  which  was  Thursday,  no  appreciable  effect  was  felt  on 
the  attendance  of  most  of  the  London  theaters.  The  usual 
number  were  watiing  in  line  at  the  Drury  Lane  box  office  early 
in  the  evening.  The  vaudeville  had  "house  full"  boards  prom- 
inently displayed.  Still  another  playhouse  in  the  Strand 
showed  only  a  slight  falling  off  in  attendance,  but  when  the 
actual  list  of  dead,  injured  and  missing  was  received  by  cable 
and  posted  in  the  newspaper  offices,  hotels  and  other  public 
places,  there  was  a  very  marked  decrease  in  the  number  of 
theater  goers.  Later  still  came  the  detailed  information  called 
for  by  the  fire  committee  of  the  London  county  council,  which 
indicated  that  the  Chicago  theater  offered  better  chances  of 
escape  than  a  number  of  houses  in  the  very  heart  of  London. 
This  was  the  first  step  toward  a  thorough  overhauling  of  the 
theaters  of  the  world's  metropolis. 

LONDON  THEATER  PRECAUTIONS. 

With  the  story  of  the  horror  upon  the  pale  lips  of  all,  there 
was  at  the  same  time,  in  the  minds  of  many  of  the  theater  goers 
of  London,  a  feeling  that  the  regulations  of  the  lord  chamber- 
lain and  the  London  county  council  reduced  to  a  minimum 
the  possibility  of  the  occurrence  of  a  similar  tragedy  in  their 
midst.  Nevertheless  theatrical  men  of  experience  agree  that, 
after  all,  the  most  elaborate  precautions  may  be  taken,  and 
when  the  crucial  moment  arrives  they  may  prove  of  not  the 
slightest  value. 

PRESENT  RULES  FOR  LONDON  THEATERS. 

On  the  programme  of  every  theater  in  London  is  printed  the 
following  extract  from  rules  made  by  the  lord  chamberlain : 


236  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

"The  name  of  the  actual  responsible  manager  of  the  theater 
must  be  printed  on  every  playbill.  The  public  can  leave  the 
theater  at  the  end  of  the  performance  by  all  exit  entrance 
doors,  which  must  open  outward. 

"Where  there  is  a  fireproof  screen  to  the  proscenium  opening 
it  must  be  lowered  at  least  once  during  every  performance,  to 
insure  it  being  in  proper  working  order. 

"All  gangways,  passages  and  staircases  must  be  kept  free 
from  chairs  or  any  other  obstructions." 

To  guard  against  the  possibility  of  a  person  in  a  moment  of 
fright  jumping  from  a  balcony,  the  London  county  council  in- 
sists on  a  brass  railing  being  fixed  on  the  tier  In  front  of  the 
upper  circle. 

CURTAIN  OFTEN  TESTED. 

His  Majesty's  Theater  is  one  of  the  largest  and  best 
equipped  theaters  in  London.  The  precautions  taken  there  may 
be  mentioned  as  representative  of  what  many  London  theater 
managers  do  to  protect  their  patrons.  A  big  iron  asbestos  cur- 
tain is  worked  by  a  lever  in  the  "prop"  corner  on  the  prompter's 
side.  The  curtain  is  lowered  just  after  the  audience  has  been 
seated,  before  the  play  begins,  not  only  to  test  it,  but  to  give  the 
audience  confidence.  Thursday  night  following  the  Iroquois 
fire  Beerbohm  Tree,  the  proprietor,  ordered  the  curtain  to  be 
lowered  twice,  the  second  time  after  the  first  act,  and  this  will 
be  done  in  the  future. 

CLOSE  WATCH  FOR  FIR/E. 

Two  firemen  belonging  to  the  fire  department,  but  paid  by 
the  theater,  come  on  duty  at  7  o'clock.  Every  light  or  naked 
torch  carried  on  the  stage  it  is  their  duty  to  watch.  It  is  the 
custom  here,  as  at  all  theaters,  to  keep  blankets  dripping  wet 


IROQUO1S  THEATER  DISASTER. 

f 

hanging  at  certain  points  all  round  the  stage.     Cutting-away 
apparatus  and  buckets  are  kept  in  the  flies. 

"I  have  never  heard  of  a  great  theater  fire,"  said  Mr.  Dana, 
acting  manager,  "where  trouble  has  been  caused  by  flames  in 
the  front  of  the  house.  The  exits  in  London  theaters  must  be 
direct  to  the  streets,  not  false  exits,  as  I  am  afraid  is  too  often 
the  case  in  America.  Nevertheless,  when  all  is  done,  the  fact 
remains  that  no  one  has  ever  invented  a  patent  for  stopping 
a  panic." 

s  TREE  TELLS  OF  RUSE. 

"It  is  certainly  the  most  terrible  tragedy  I  ever  heard  of," 
said  Mr.  Tree,  the  proprietor.  "It  is  quite  easy  at  times  to 
prevent  a  panic  from  the  stage  by  a  little  presence  of  mind. 
I  was  playing  once  in  Belfast  when  suddenly  behind  a  transpar- 
ency I  saw  a  reddish  blaze  and  guessed  it  was  a  fire,  but  went 
quietly  on  until  a  convenient  pause.  Then  I  announced  to  the 
audience  that  something  was  out  of  order  and  the  curtain 
would  descend  quietly  and  remain  down  a  few  minutes.  I 
assured  them  there  was  absolutely  no  danger.  The  cur- 
tain descended  amid  applause,  and  while  the  band  played  the 
fire  was  quickly  smothered.  The  curtain  rose  and  the  play 
went  on  without  a  soul  leaving  the  house. 

"It  is  quite  possible  at  such  a  time  for  a  person  to  hypnotize 
an  audience.  In  all  cases  of  theater  disasters  it  has  been  the 
panic,  not  the  fire,  that  has  caused  the  big  loss  of  life. 

"It  is  probable  if  the  audience  had  known  where  the  exits 
were  the  Iroquois  theater  might  have  been  cleared  in  two 
minutes.  I  think  that  every  night  uniformed  attendants  should 
be  stationed  in  all  theaters,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  call  out 
'This  way  out'  when  the  audience  is  leaving.  I  am  surprised 
there  appeared  to  be  no  outside  balconies  with  stairways,  as  is 


238  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

the  case  in  most  American  theaters,  which  is  an  advantage 
which  we  have  not  got  here." 

FORTUNE  FOR  SAFETY. 

Sidney  Smith,  business  manager  of  the  Drury  Lane  theater, 
where  "Mr.  Bluebeard,  Jr.,"  was  produced  two  years  ago,  said : 
"The  kernel  of  the  whole  matter  is  that  human  beings  will  be 
human  beings.  There  is  no  possible  provision  against  a  panic. 
Our  theater  is  the  only  isolated  one  in  London." 

W.  C.  ZIMMERMAN  ON  EUROPEAN  THEATERS. 

W.  Carbys  Zimmerman,  of  Chicago,  the  well-known  archi- 
tect, sailed  for  America  on  the  Saturday  succeeding  the  fire, 
with  his  wife,  in  a  state  of  intense  anxiety  as  to  whether  his 
children  had  been  caught  in  the  Iroquois  disaster. 

Mr.  Zimmerman  had  just  completed  a  tour  of  inspection  of 
the  theaters  of  Vienna,  Paris  and  London.  "My  work  in 
London,"  he  said,  "was  interfered  with  by  the  appalling  news 
from  Chicago.  I  had  seen  only  a  few  theaters  here  when  I 
heard  of  the  Iroquois  fire.  After  that  I  had  no  heart  to  make 
further  investigation.  My  observation  leads  me  to  think  the 
Vienna  theaters  the  safest  in  Europe.  Many  of  them  are  quite 
detached  from  other  buildings.  They  are  splendidly  furnished 
with  exits  and  fire-fighting  appliances.  The  theaters  of  Paris, 
except  the  best  ones,  are  extremely  dangerous. 

"From  what  I  saw  in  London  I  judge  that  fire  in  many  thea- 
ters would  result  in  great  loss  of  life.  The  passages  are  often 
so  narrow  that  two  people  can  scarcely  pass.  The  managers 
naturally  put  a  rosy  face  on  the  matter.  They  pretend  that  the 
Chicago  fire  has  not  reduced  their  bookings,  but  intelligent  ob- 
servers know  better.  Immense  improvements  are  certain  to  be 
effected  in  London  theaters  in  the  immediate  future. 


JROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  239 

"Every  theater  should  be  isolated  from  other  structures.  It 
should  have  exits  all  round  and  these  should  be  used  regu- 
larly. There  should  be  no  emergency  exits  whatever.  The 
fireproof  curtain  should  be  used  constantly  in  place  o'f  the 
ordinary  drop  curtain.  All  passages  should  be  straight  and 
wide  and  all  scenery  noncombustible.  Lastly,  professional  fire 
fighters  should  be  properly  posted  throughout  the  performance. 
Europe  recognizes  that  amateur  firemen  are  useless  in  a  crisis." 

THE  EFFECT  ON  GAY  PARIS. 

Thousands  of  Parisians,  both  French  and  Americans,  in- 
cluding all  those  who  had  friends  and  relatives  in  Chicago, 
eagerly  scanned  the  list  of  the  dead  and  injured  in  the  Iroquois 
disaster,  as  it  was  posted  at  the  newspaper  offices  and  distrib- 
uted throughout  the  hotels  and  public  places  in  the  city.  This 
step  greatly  relieved  the  anxiety  of  many  of  the  American 
colony,  while  at  the  same  time  it  confirmed  the  fears  of  those 
whose  friends  or  acquaintances  were  caught  in  the  fire. 

The  theater  managers  complained  at  once  that  the  Chicago 
catastrophe  had  a  most  damaging  effect  .on  receipts.  All  the 
popular  matinees  were  comparatively  deserted  and  the  chil- 
dren's New  Year  pantomimes  were  complete  failures.  Cool 
heads  pointed  out  that  the  Parisian  theaters,  as  a  rule,  are 
better  equipped  against  fire  than  those  of  Chicago,  but  without 
effect.  The  lesson  of  terror  had  seized  the  public. 

UPHEAVAL  OF  BERLIN  THEATER  WORLD. 

The  Berlin  evening  papers  of  the  fateful  day  expressed 
horror  and  sympathy  over  the  Chicago  catastrophe,  comparing 
the  details  with  those  of  the  Vienna  and  Paris  theater  fires.  The 
fire  department  of  the  city  announced  that  it  would  immediately 
make  a  fresh  study  of  the  protective  arrangements  of  the  locaJ 


240  1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

theaters,  so  as  to  prevent,  if  possible,  a  disaster  similar  to  the 
one  at  Chicago. 

Directors  of  all  the  Berlin  theaters  were  promptly  sum- 
moned to  police  headquarters  and  apprised  of  the  kaiser's  de- 
mand that  fire  protection  be  made  more  adequate.  The 
directors  of  many  houses  came  before  their  audiences  and 
publicly  stated  their  intention  to  install  the  new  facilities  or- 
dered by  the  kaiser.  These  precautions  included  the  lowering 
of  the  iron  curtain  five  minutes  before  each  performance  and 
during  the  intermissions ;  an  increase  in  the  number  of  firemen 
on  and  off  the  stage,  and  illuminated  exit  signs,  incapable  of 
extinguishment  by  smoke  or  flame.  Before  each  performance 
the  firemen  were  also  to  make  minute  inspection  of  the  build- 
ing and  furnish  a  formal  report  that  all  was  right  before  the 
curtain  was  raised. 

The  greatest  bomb,  however,  cast  into  the  theater  world  of 
Berlin  was  Emperor  Wilhelm's  order  summarily  closing  the 
Royal  Opera  House  until  certain  alterations,  necessary  for  pro- 
tection from  fire  and  possible  panic,  were  made.  The  kaiser's 
action  attracted  the  attention  of  the  whole  community,  which 
concluded  that  if  the  largest  and  best-equipped  playhouse  in 
Prussia  was  unsafe  many  minor  establishments  must  be  posi- 
tively dangerous.  Berlin,  without  doubt,  contained  a  dozen 
music  halls  and  other  places  of  amusement  where  a  fire  panic 
would  be  deadly,  and  they  followed  the  fate  of  the  Royal 
Opera  House  and  were  closed  until  safeguards  approved  by  the 
proper  authorities  were  provided.  In  the  future  proprietors  of 
Berlin  theaters  will  also  station  special  policemen  in  their 
houses  for  the  sole  purpose  of  controlling  audiences  in  case  of 
fire,  or  panic,  or  both.  Thus  did  the  Chicago  tragedy  pro- 
foundly affect  one  of  the  great  theater  centers  of  the  world. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  241 

MR.  SHAVER  ON  BERLIN  THEATERS. 

Cornelius  H.  Shaver,  president  of  the  Railroad  News  Com- 
pany of  Chicago,  who  was  in  Berlin  at  the  time  of  the  fire, 
said:  "Many  of  the  theaters  in  Germany  strike  me  as  fire- 
traps.  Several  Berliners  assure  me  that  the  ushers  are  the 
only  ones  sure  of  escaping  with  their  lives  from  at  least  three 
of  their  best  houses.  The  auditoriums  in  many  German  thea- 
ters are  150  feet  back  from  the  street  and  to  reach  them  one 
must  journey  through  a  labyrinth  of  courts,  corridors  and  sud- 
den turnings.  In  the  interior  the  precautions  against  fire  are 
excellent,  including  iron  curtains,  automatic  sprinklers  and 
squads  of  city  firemen ;  but  German  theaters  and  hotels  are  lack- 
ing in  so  essential  an  equipment  as  outside  fire  escapes." 

VIENNA  RECALLS  A  HORROR  OF  ITS  OWN. 

The  catastrophe  at  Chicago  aroused  the  most  painful  in- 
terest  and  the  utmost  sympathy  everywhere  in  Austria,  tne 
Viennese  having  a  keen  recollection  of  the  disaster  at  the  Rang 
theater  in  1881,  when  875  people  lost  their  lives.  Intense 
anxiety  prevailed  in  the  American  colony,  as  many  doctors  and 
musical  students  who  form  the  bulk  of  the  colony  come  from 
the  Middle  West  of  the  United  States. 

Herr  Lueger,  the  burgomaster  of  Vienna,  sent  a  cable  mes- 
sage to  Mayor  Harrison,  expressing  sympathy  and  deep  con- 
dolence over  the  terrible  catastrophe. 

THE  NETHERLANDS  AND  SCANDINAVIA. 

Upon  receipt  of  definite  news  of  the  Iroquois  theater  disaster 
the  theaters  and  music  halls  in  The  Hague  were  overhauled  by 
the  authorities.  Amsterdam  and  Rotterdam  demanded  strict 
enforcement  of  the  regulations  against  fire  and  new  legislation 
looking  to  that  end  was  at  once  gut  in  force. 


242  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

In  Copenhagen,  Stockholm  and  Christiania  the  Danish, 
Swedish  and  Norwegian  licensing  authorities  for  public  amuse- 
ments caused  a  rigid  inspection  to  be  made  of  all  playhouses 
with  a  view  to  better  safeguards  against  fire,  and  that  inspec- 
tion is  still  progressing  and  will  doubtless  bear  good  results 
as  in  other  European  centers^ 

Enough  has  been  said  to  indicate  that  virtually  the  entire 
hemisphere  of  the  West  has  been  stirred  to  practical  action  by 
the  terrible  calamity  which  this  book  records.  It  is  not  within 
the  range  of  human  possibility  that  theaters  can  be  made  abso- 
lutely perfect,  any  more  than  other  human  institutions,  nor  is 
it  possible  that  the  awful  lesson  furnished  by  the  Iroquois 
theater  disaster  will  have  been  forgotten  before  substantial 
improvements  are  made  in  the  amusement  houses  of  the  world 
for  the  present  and  future  protection  of  human  life. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  SAFE  THEATERS. 

Clarence  J.  Root,  of  Chicago,  an  assistant  of  Prof.  Cox  in 
the  weather  bureau,  makes  the  following  suggestions  in  con- 
nection with  the  safe-theater  agitation : 

"Location — All  theaters  to  be  in  buildings  by  themselves, 
like  the  Illinois  and  Iroquois.  No  stores  or  offices  to  be  located 
in  them.  Buildings  should  be  isolated,  with  wide  private  or 
public  alleys  or  courts  entirely  around  the  rear  and  sides.  A 
false  wall  could  be  built  in  front  of  the  side  courts  where  they 
project  upon  the  street,  thus  helping  the  appearance  of  the 
block.  These  should,  however,  have  wide  arches  through 
them. 

"Construction — All  buildings  to  be  absolutely  fireproof.  The 
buildings  should  be  built  of  steel,  fireproof  tiling,  steel  lathing, 
etc.  Scenery  of  asbestos  or  aluminum  would  be  practicable. 
Aluminum  is  light  and  easily  handled.  The  seats  to  be  up- 
holstered in  leather.  The  floor  to  be  constructed  of  metal, 
cement,  mosaic  or  composition,  with  thin  rubber  matting  over 
them,  such  as  is  used  on  sleeping-car  steps.  Ornamental  iron 
work  can  be  used  on  boxes,  front  of  balconies,  etc.  Stair  rail- 
ings of  brass  or  fancy  copper.  The  fire  curtain  to  be  of  steel 
and  asbestos  both.  The  heavy  steel  would  prevent  any  bulging 
from  a  draft. 

"Exits — No  steps  or  stairs  should  be  used  In  the  aisles  or 
exits  or  anywhere  in  the  theater.  Easy  inclines,  similar  to  the 
ones  in  the  new  Pittsburg  theater,  should  be  used  in  the  aisles, 


244  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

the  inside  entrances  and  exits,  and  the  outside  exits,  all  to  be 
covered  with  rubber  to  prevent  slipping.  Two  or  three  very 
wide  exits  ought  to  be  provided  on  each  side  of  the  theater, 
and  in  addition,  one  (say  twice  as  wide  as  the  aisle)  at  the 
rear  end  of  each  aisle,  the  hallway  leading  from  these  rear 
exits,  if  not  opening  outdoors,  to  be  wide  enough  to  accommo- 
date the  entire  number  of  exits.  These  rules  should  apply  in 
the  balconies,  also.  The  outside  fire-escapes  to  be  long,  easy 
inclines,  with  high  sides,  to  prevent  people  from  jumping. 
Each  exit  to  have  its  own  independent  incline,  so  that  the 
crowd  from  the  first  balcony  cannot  block  those  from  the  upper 
gallery,  as  in  the  Iroquois  fire.  All  doors  to  swing  outward 
and  not  to  be  locked  during  the  performance.  They  should  be 
inspected  before  each  play  and  should  be  so  connected,  elec- 
trically, that  every  door  in  the  house  could  be  thrown  open  in- 
stantly, merely  by  the  touching  of  a  button,  these  buttons  to  be 
located  on  the  stage  and  other  places  convenient  to  the  ushers 
and  employees.  Theaters  should  not  be  built  'L*  shape.  That 
was  one  fault  of  the  Iroquois.  The  crowd  naturally  followed 
the  aisles  to  the  back  of  the  house  and  then,  instead  of  finding 
themselves  at  the  outdoor  exits,  as  in  most  playhouses,  they 
had  to  go  clear  to  one  side  of  the  theater.  This  mixed  them  up 
with  the  crowds  from  the  other  aisles  and  concentrated  too 
many  people  in  one  place. 

"Summary — A  theater  as  described  above  could  not  burn, 
but  a  sprinkler  system  would  do  no  harm.  Heating  and  power 
plant  in  another  building  would  prevent  danger  of  an  explo- 
sion. The  aisles  should  be  very  wide  and  no  standing  room  or 
portable  chairs  allowed.  It  may  seem  unnecessary  in  a  fire- 
proof theater  to  have*  such  elaborate  exits,  but  panics  will  occur 
from  other  causes  than  fires.  A  plan  of  the  house  should  be 
printed  on  the  cover  of  the  program ;  this  should  plainly  show 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  245 

the  exits.  A  description  of  the  fireproof  qualities  of  the  theater 
should  also  be  printed.  This  will  secure  the  confidence  of  the 
audience,  and  perhaps  avert  a  panic.  In  a  house  built  and 
equipped,  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  above  ideas,  a  fire 
would  be  impossible  and  a  serious  panic  unlikely." 

FRANCIS  WILSON  SAYS  "NO  STEPS." 

Francis  Wilson,  the  well  known  actor,  in  speaking  of  the 
fire,  said: 

"I  suppose  similar  scenes  always  will  follow  a  sudden  rush 
in  any  building  crowded  with  men  and  women,  but  I  feel 
strongly  that  theater  buildings  could  be  improved  so  as  to  re- 
duce the  danger  in  a  stampede  to  a  minimum.  It  is  my  opinion 
that  there  should  not  be  a  single  step  in  a  theater.  The  de- 
scents should  be  gentle  inclines.  That  this  is  possible  is 
shown  by  the  construction  of  a  new  theater  in  Pittsburg,  where 
even  the  gallery  is  reached  by  inclines. 

"It  is  the  thought  of  the  many  stairways  that  must  be  passed 
quickly,  and  possibly  in  darkness,  that  drives  the  occupants  of 
the  galleries  to  panic  at  any  alarm.  If  they  were  sure  of  a 
clear  pathway  straight  to  the  street  half  their  fear  would  be 
allayed.  In  doing  away  with  steps  in  the  auditoriums  of 
theaters  the  builders  should  not  forget  the  actors." 

STAIRCASES  WITH  RAILINGS. 

Suggestion  by  W.  B.  Chamberlain,  of  London : 
"In  nearly  all  fires  in  theaters  loss  of  life  seems  to  be  at  the 
head  of  stairs.  This  is  natural,  as  persons  who  come  first 
to  the  head  of  the  stairs,  hold  back,  being  afraid  to  go  down 
quickly  lest  they  be  pushed  down  by  those  behind  them.  Peo- 
ple seem  to  think  a  broad  staircase  safer  than  a  narrow  one. 
I  don't  think  this  is  the  case,  as  in  a  narrow  one  you  can  put 


246  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

your  hands  on  two  sides,  and  go  down  with  less  fear  of  being 
thrown  forward.  All  wide  staircases  should  be  provided  with 
handrails,  for  if  you  have  both  hands  on  handrails  you  can 
run  down  quickly.  If  theaters  were  below  ground  you  would 
in  case  of  fire  run  up  instead  of  down.  They  would  be  much 
safer  for  want  of  air  to  feed  the  flames." 

PRECAUTIONS  ENFORCED  IN  LONDON. 

According  to  Sir  Algernon  West,  of  London,  since  1858  not 
a  single  life  has  been  lost  in  a  properly  licensed  theater  build- 
ing in  that  city,  except  of  a  fireman,  who  perished  in  the  per- 
formance of  duty  at  the  Alhambra  in  1882.  During  the  few 
days  following  the  Iroquois  disaster,  theater  managers  and  the 
public  praised  the  wisdom  of  the  rules  of  the  county  council, 
whereas  some  of  the  former  had  been  wont  to  find  them  rather 
irksome.  In  addition  to  the  main  rules  about  lowering  the  as- 
bestos curtain  once  during  the  performance,  doors  opening  out- 
ward, stairways  and  passages  to  be  kept  free,  there  are  some 
other  precautions  which  must  be  observed.  All  doors  used  for 
the  purpose  of  exit  must,  if  fastened  during  the  time  the  pub- 
lic are  in  the  building,  be  secured  during  such  time  only  by 
automatic  bolts  only  of  a  pattern  and  position  approved  by  the 
council.  The  management  must  allow  the  public  to  leave  by  all 
exit  doors.  All  gas  burners  within  reach  of  the  audience  must 
be  protected  by  glass  or  wire  globes.  All  gas  taps  within 
reach  of  the  public  must  be  made  secure. 

An  additional  means  of  lighting  for  use  in  the  event  of  the 
•principal  system  being  extinguished  must  be  provided  in  the 
auditorium,  corridors,  passages,  exits  and  staircases.  If  oil 
or  candle  lamps  are  used  for  this  purpose,  they  must  be  of  a 
pattern  approved  by  the  council,  and  properly  secured  to  a 
noninflammable  base,. out  of  reach  of  the  public.  Such  lamps 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  247 

must  be  kept  lighted  during  the  whole  time  the  public  is  in 
the  premises.  No  mineral  oil  must  be  used  in  them.  All 
hangings,  curtains  and  draperies  must  be  rendered  noninflam- 
mable.  Scenery  is  painted  on  canvas  that  has  been  first  pre- 
pared with  a  solution  recommended  by  the  county  council,  to 
make  it  noninflammable.  The  paints  used  by  the  scenic  artists 
contain  no  oils. 

WHAT  THE  CHICAGO  CITY  ENGINEER  SAYS. 

John  Ericson,  the  city  engineer  of  Chicago,  has  this  to  offer : 

"A  theater  building  should  have  an  open  space  on  all  sides, 
with  exits  and  entrances  leading  directly  out,  and  not,  as  now 
is  mostly  the  case,  be  wedged  in  tight  between  other  large 
buildings,  with  a  number  of  exits  all  leading  to  one  or  two 
not  too  wide  hallways  which  again,  together  with  the  stair- 
ways from  the  balconies  and  galleries,  merge  into  one  entrance. 
These  halls  and  stairways  are  only  too  easily  blocked  by  the 
frantic  people  in  case  of  a  panic.  The  aisles  in  most  of  our 
theaters  are  also  too  narrow  and  should  be  made  considerably 
wider. 

"The  excuse  that  space  is  too  valuable  for  such  extravagance 
cannot  hold.  If  the  return  for  the  capital  invested  in  such  a 
case  does  not  seem  sufficiently  large  to  the  investor,  then  rather 
charge  a  little  more  for  the  entertainment  or  reduce  the  num- 
ber of  playhouses  so  as  to  insure  full  houses,  but  in  the  name 
of  humanity  construct  those  that  are  used  in  such  a  way  that 
calamities  such  as  have  occurred  will  be  an  impossibility. 

"I  am  also  of  the  opinion  that  perforated  water  pipes  over 
the  stage,  into  which  water  can  be  turned  at  a  moment's  notice 
so  as  to  drench  the  whole  stage  if  necessary,  would  add  greatly 
to  the  safety  of  life  and  property. 

"An  automatic  sprinkler  system  would  probably  have  been 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

less  effective  in  the  case  of  the  Iroquois  fire,  as  great  damage 
to  life  would  have  probably  been  done  before  such  sprinklers 
would  have  been  put  into  action." 

OPINION  OF  A  FIREPROOF  EXPERT. 

William  Clendennin,  editor  of  the  Fireproof  Magazine,  con- 
demned the  Iroquois  Theater  building  as  long  ago  as  last  Au- 
gust. Here  is  his  opinion,  which  he  asserts  is  based  on  a  per- 
sonal investigation: 

"The  Iroquois  theater  was  a  firetrap.  The  whole  thing  was 
a  rush  construction.  It  was  beautiful  but  it  was  cheap.  Every- 
thing but  the  structural  members  was  of  wood;  the  roller  on 
the  asbestos  curtain,  the  pulleys,  all  of  a  cheap  compromise. 

"I  made  an  investigation  of  the  theater  last  August  and 
condemned  it  on  four  different  points.  My  condemnation  was 
published  in  the  August  number  of  the  Fireproof.  The  points 
are: 

"l.  The  absence  of  an  intake,  or  stage  draft  shaft 

"2.  The  exposed  re-enforcement  of  the  concrete  arch. 

"3.  The  presence  of  wood  trim  on  everything. 

"4.  The  inadequate  provision  of  exits. 

"A  theater  has  two  parts — the  stage  and  the  house  or  audi- 
ence part.  There  should  be  a  roll  shutter  between  the  two  and 
the  best  sort  of  a  curtain  is  a  compromise.  The  poor  stuff  in 
the  curtain  at  the  Iroquois  theater  made  it  doubly  a  compro- 
mise ;  a  great  danger,  a  terrible  trap. 

"The  stage  may  be  compared  to  a  closet.  When  you  open 
a  closet  door  the  draft  is  outward,  not  inward.  So  when  the 
,fire  started  on  the  stage  the  draft  pulled  it  toward  the  audience. 
It  was  a  quick  flame  puff. 

"The  arch,  or  ceiling,  was  covered  with  a  cheap  concrete. 
The  first  puff  of  flame  destroyed  this.  It  crumbled  away,  ex- 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  2249 

posing  the  twisted  mass  of  steel  reenforcement  and  girders, 
and  fell  on  the  audience.  This  killed  many.  Looking  from 
below,  the  bewildered,  choking  and  maddened  crowd  thought 
it  was  the  result  of  a  panic  above.  They  believed  the  galleries 
were  falling  and  in  the  rush  resulting  many  more  were  killed. 
"The  Iroquois  theater  was  the  most-talked-of  construction 
in  the  country  at  the  time  of  its  building.  It  was  believed  to  be 
the  expression  of  the  most  modern  ideas  in  regard  to  theater 
building;  to  be  about  as  near  fireproof  as  one  could  be.  My 
investigation  satisfied  me  that  it  was  one  of  the  worst  firetraps 
in  the  city.  There  was  so  much  wood  and  so  much  plush  and 
inflammable  trimming  about  everything.  The  insufficient  exits 
tell  the  rest  of  the  story." 

ILLUMINATED  EXIT  SIGNS. 

On  this  point  T.  B.  Badt,  a  consulting  electrical  engineer  of 
Chicago,  writes: 

"It  has  been  stated  that  in  the  Iroquois  no  exit  signs  were 
over  the  doors,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  this  was  one  of 
the  causes  of  loss  of  life.  The  question  arises,  what  would 
signs  have  been  good  for  if  the  theater  was  thrown  in  dark- 
ness? The  signs  would  not  have  been  seen  any  more  than 
the  doors  underneath  the  draperies.  In  order  to  avoid  such 
trouble  I  should  propose  the  following : 

"Have  over  each  door  a  transparent  sign  made  out  of  metal 
with  glass  crystal  letters,  and  have  same  illuminated  from  the 
outside  of  the  building  wall  by  means  of  a  lantern  attached 
on  the  outside,  and  have  this  lantern  supplied  by  a  source  of 
light  independent  of  the  theater  lighting  system,  either  electric 
or  gas.  The  sign  would  be  illuminated  at  all  times  during  the 
performance;  it  would  not  be  an  objection  during  dark  scenes, 
because  there  would  be  practically  no  light  thrown  through 


250  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

the  glass  letters  to  interfere  with  the  darkness  inside;  at  the 
same  time  the  sign  would  stand  there  glaring  the  word  'exit/ 
no  matter  how  dark  the  theater  or  how  light  the  theater.  The 
main  point  I  am  trying  to  raise  is  that  any  device  which  has  to 
be  operated  in  case  of  an  emergency  is  liable  to  fail,  but  an  illu- 
minated sign  that  will  be  illuminated  at  all  times  will  be  there 
no  matter  what  trouble  may  happen,  because  nobody  can  forget 
to  light  it  during  the  excitement,  as  it  is  already  lighted  be- 
fore the  performance  commences.  This,  in  my  opinion,  is  the 
keynote  for  all  devices  which  are  intended  to  prevent  panics 
in  theaters.  An  automatic  device  is  dependent  upon  certain 
conditions,  usually  rise  of  temperature  near  the  ceiling.  A 
manually  operated  safety  device  depends  upon  the  presence  of 
mind  and  cool-headedness  of  a  certain  employee  and  in  my 
opinion  all  these  features  should  be  eliminated.  Everything 
should  be  ready  for  an  emergency  and  not  be  dependent  upon 
somebody  or  something  to  make  it  ready.  All  exit  doors  ought 
to  be  unlocked  and  swing  open  towards  the  outside,  and  this,  in 
connection  with  the  permanently  illuminated  sign  above  the 
door  saying  'exit,'  in  my  opinion,  would  prevent  any  of  the 
calamities  heretofore  experienced  in  theater  disasters." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  SWORN  TESTIMONY  OF  THE  SURVIVORS. 

Scores  and  scores  of  witnesses  assembled  in  the  little  com- 
mittee rooms  and  antechambers  of  the  council  hall  in  the 
great  Chicago  administrative  building,  each  with  his  story  to 
add  to  the  story  of  horror,  when  the  inquest  over  the  dead 
began  on  Thursday,  January  7,  1904,  one  week  and  a  day 
after  the  disaster. 

Some  were  muffled  under  great  rolls  of  bandages  that  con- 
cealed frightful  scars  and  burns.  Others  gave  no  outward 
indication  of  the  season  of  terror  they  had  passed  and  sur- 
vived to  tell  the  tale.  Fashionable  theater  goers,  actors,  act- 
resses and  stage  hands,  chorus  girls,  belted  policemen  and  grim 
firemen,  all  met  on  terms  of  temporary  equality,  forming  a 
heterogeneous  assemblage  waiting  the  call  to  take  the  stand. 
One  by  one  they  were  admitted  to  the  vast  council  chamber 
where  for  days  the  inquisition  continued. 

Vast  throngs  of  curious  besieged  the  place,  clamoring  for 
opportunity  to  view  the  proceedings.  None,  save  the  favored 
few  citizens  to  whom  tickets  were  issued,  municipal,  county  and 
state  offcials  and  representatives  of  the  press,  enjoyed  that 
opportunity.  To  them  day  after  day  a  growing  tale  of  suffer- 
ing and  death  was  unfolded  such  as  has  not  fallen  upon  mortal 
ears  for  half  a  century.  It  was  a  harrowing  recital  that 
satiated  and  sickened  the  auditors  and  left  them  faint  at  each 
adjournment. 

For  days  preceding  the  opening  session  Coroner  Traeger, 

m 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

his  deputies  and  the  six  jurors  had  been  engaged  in  a  canvass 
of  hospitals,  undertaking  establishments  and  morgues,  viewing 
the  dead.  Nor  was  thst  ghastly  work  over  when  they  entered 
upon  the  semi-judicial  task  of  taking  testimony.  Ever  and 
anon  they  halted  the  inquiry  to  proceed  to  the  bedside  of  some 
victim  that  had  died  after  lingering  suffering.  This  formality 
was  necessary  before  burial  permits  could  issue.  Each  suc- 
ceeding call  brought  to  the  jurors  a  shudder.  Theirs  was  a 
gruesome  task  for  the  public  service  and  they  felt  its  burden 
keenly. 

The  trend  of  the  statements  taken  were  the  same.  Details 
formed  the  only  variations.  Some  of  the  statements  follow : 

THE  FIRST  WITNESS. 

John  C.  Galvin,  1677  West  Monroe  street,  Chicago,  the 
first  witness  heard,  said : 

"On  the  day  the  fire  occurred  I  stepped  into  the  vestibule  to 
buy  tickets  for  the  following  evening.  It  must  have  been  a 
little  after  half  past  three.  As  I  stepped  into  the  entrance  1 
looked  into  the  lobby  and  turned  to  the  ticket  office,  and  as  I 
did  so  the  center  doors  of  the  lobby  foyer  and  the  outside  en- 
trance doors  were  blown  open  as  though  by  a  gust  of  hot  air. 
I  looked  into  the  foyer  and  I  saw  people  running  toward  the 
entrance.  I  realized  at  once  what  the  trouble  was,  and  went 
to  the  lobby  doors  and  tried  to  open  the  west  door  there,  that 
being  the  nearest  to  me.  It  was  locked  on  the  inside  and  I 
couldn't  do  anything  with  it. 

"Then  I  tried  to  pacify  the  people  from  rushing  or  crowd- 
ing, tried  to  save  the  panic,  but  it  was  no  use.  I  would  judge 
there  were  probably  a  dozen,  not  more  than  a  dozen,  cleared 
the  door  before  the  crush  came.  I  recollect  the  first  person 
to  go  down  seemed  to  be  a  rather  stout  woman,  who  seemed 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  253 

to  be  free  herself,  somebody  stepping  on  her  skirt.  She 
turned  to  gather  up  her  skirts  and  she  was  borne  down  by  the 
crowd,  and  then  they  piled  on  top  of  each  other.  I  did  what 
I  could  to  release  the  jam,  pulling  the  people  from  under  the 
crowd  and  getting  them  out  into  the  entrance,  out  into  the 
street,  but  all  the  while  the  vestibule  was  filling  up  by  those 
returning  to  help  their  friends,  and  people  rushing  into  the 
street  and  helping  to  bring  the  crowd  to.  I  tried  to  open  the 
outside  entrance  door,  the  west  door,  which  I  found  was  bolted 
on  the  inside  at  that  time.  I  tried  to  lift  the  bolt,  but  I  couldn't 
do  that. 

"Then  I  kicked  out  two  of  the  panels.  I  kicked  the  glass 
out  of  the  panels,  and  I  then  returned  to  the  west  vestibule  door 
and  I  kicked  out  the  panels  of  these  two  doors,  that  is,  the  west 
door,  and  tried  to  take  some  of  the  people  out  through  the 
openings.  After  we  got  out  of  the  doorway  I  walked  back  into 
the  entrance  gallery  and  walked  around,  and  there  was  a  dense 
smoke  coming  from  the  theater. 

"I  was  expecting  a  big  crush  in  the  vestibule,  a  much  larger 
crush  than  I  saw.  I  thought  there  would  be  a  jam  on  that 
stair,  but  nobody  came  down  the  stairs  to  my  recollection,  not 
a  soul.  They  never  lived  to  reach  it.  All  the  time  I  was  there 
I  saw  no  one  whose  dress  or  demeanor  would  indicate  they  were 
policemen,  firemen  or  attaches  of  the  theater.  I  remained  doing 
what  I  could  to  relieve  the  situation  until  driven  out  by  the 
smoke.  I  then  went  across  the  street  and  watched  the  de- 
struction of  the  theater." 

MARLOWE'S  EXPERIENCE. 

James  C.  McGurn,  2  Rosemont  street,  Dorchester,  Mass., 
known  on  the  stage  as  James  C.  Marlowe: 
"I  was  in  the  Garrick  theater,  a  block  distant,  to  see  the 


254  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

show.  At  the  first  alarm  I  hurried  out  and  went  down  to  the 
Iroquois  theater  entrance.  I  went  inside  and  the  firemen  were 
in  working  at  the  time,  getting  lines  of  hose  in  there.  Some  of 
the  firemen  were  already  pouring  streams  through  into  the 
lobby.  There  was  a  tremendous  draft  there  and  the  lobby  was 
clear,  but  directly  inside  the  door  that  had  been  opened  there 
were  dense  volumes  of  smoke.  The  first  thought  that  struck 
my  mind,  being  conversant  with  theaters,  was  that  there  might 
be  somebody  in  the  house.  Just  then  a  man  came  in  there, 
followed  by  another  man,  a  citizen,  and  we  were  the  only  men 
in  the  lobby  outside  of  the  firemen.  He  asked  for  the  gallery 
stairway  and  immediately  after  that  I  saw  him  going  up  the 
stairs  to  the  right  as  you  go  in  the  lobby.  He  went  up  these 
stairs  with  his  men  and  a  fireman  followed  him. 

"I  was  watching  the  stairs,  and  they  were  up  there  thirty 
seconds,  about,  when  the  fireman  came  down  with  the  first  body, 
a  little  girl,  about  eight  years  old.  He  shouted  out  to  the  fire- 
men for  God's  sake  to  get  up  there,  and  all  the  firemen  I  saw 
in  the  lobby  dropped  everything  and  went  up,  and  they  weren't 
up  there  but  a  few  seconds  before  they  came  tumbling  down 
with  bodies,  and  after  I  had  remained  there  about  three  min- 
utes more  I  saw  dozens  of  bodies  brought  down.  One  fireman 
slipped  with  the  body  of  an  old  lady  about  the  fourth  step  and 
fell  down  on  the  marble  floor  and  I  helped  put  her  into  the  fire- 
man's arms.  The  smoke  was  so  dense  I  could  not  see  much 
and  as  I  could  do  nothing  to  help  any  one  I  hurried  out  of  the 

foyer." 

• 

MUSICAL  DIRECTOR'S  SWORN  STATEMENT. 

Antonio  Frosolono,  170  Seminary  avenue,  Chicago,  musi- 
cal director  at  the  ill-fated  theater : 
"I  was  in  the  Iroquois  theater  playing  at  that  performance 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  255 

in  the  orchestra.  I  was  not  directing  the  performance,  as  the 
company  has  its  own  director.  I  was  sitting  sideways,  facing 
the  east  door  of  the  stage.  The  stage  was  to  my  left.  I  do  not 
know  how  the  fire  started,  only  I  heard  a  confusion. 

"The  Tale  Moonlight'  scene  was  on  and  sixteen  people,  the 
double  octette,  occupied  the  stage.  Some  of  them  did  not  sing, 
and  some  of  them  went  out  of  their  places.  Eddie  Foy  came 
out  arid  announced  that  if  everybody  would  keep  quiet  every- 
thing would  be  all  right.  Then,  when  I  turned  around,  the 
stage  fireman  had  kicked  a  piece  of  blazing  curtain  down  in  the 
orchestra. 

"Then  the  bassoon  player  made  a  terrible  scramble  to  get 
out,  and  I  think  he  succeeded  in  getting  out  Then  after  that 
Mr.  Dolere,  the  musical  director  for  the  company,  went  out 
like  a  shot  out  of  a  gun ;  he  went  over  the  stand  and  everything. 
He  went  under  the  stage.  Then  everybody  else  got  out.  I  still 
sat  there,  because  I  did  not  see  much  danger  to  myself,  as 
I  thought,  or  anybody  else.  I  saw  the  people  when  they  went 
out,  and  I  heard  the  cries,  and  that  is  what  attracted  my  atten- 
tion. I  stayed  there  until  everybody  else  had  gone  out  of  the 
orchestra.  The  time  when  I  thought  it  was  time  to  get  out 
was  when  the  bass  fiddle  and  the  'cello  got  to  burning. 

"All  were  excited  on  the  stage.  Some  tried  to  put  the  fire 
out  and  others  ran.  Some  one  was  trying  to  lower  the  curtain, 
but  it  would  not  come  down  all  the  way.  Of  a  sudden  it 
bulged  out  over  my  head  like  a  balloon.  Then  the  flames  began 
to  rush  out  from  under  the  curtain.  I  saw  the  people  rushing 
out,  some  jumping  over,  hallooing  and  screaming;  then  I 
turned  around  at  that  instant  to  my  right  and  saw  that  the 
violin  and  'cello  and  bass  fiddle  had  caught  on  fire  at  one  of 
the  music  stands,  and  then  I  went  out* 


»» 


256  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

MRS.  PETRY'S  ESCAPE. 

Mrs.  Josephine  Petry,  6014  Morgan  street: 

"On  Wednesday  afternoon  at  2:15  I  went  to  the  Iroquois 
theater.  It  was  late;  the  performance  had  begun.  My  ticket 
entitled  me  to  what  I  thought  was  the  balcony,  but  it  was  at 
the  top  of  the  house,  and  when  I  went  up  there  the  theater  was 
dark  and  the  people  were  standing  four  deep  behind  my  seat. 

"It  was  the  second  act,  the  moonlight  octette,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken,  when  I  saw  on  the  left  hand  side  behind  the  prosce- 
nium arch  a  bright  light.  I  kept  my  eyes  on  that,  because  to 
me  it  did  not  look  right,  and  it  got  brighter  all  the  time.  Eddie 
Foy  came  right  beside  the  proscenium  arch,  right  where  the 
fire  was  on  the  side,  over  him,  and  told  the  people  they  should 
keep  their  seats,  there  was  no  danger.  Naturally  a  few  got  up, 
but  they  sat  down  again.  Some  people  said :  'Keep  your  seats.' 
I  got  up  and  some  one  said  beside  me:  'Sit  down,  there  is 
nothing  the  matter/  I  sat  down  again,  but  the  glare  was  get- 
ting much  brighter  and  pieces  of  charred  cloth  were  falling 
down,  although  the  flames  by  then  had  not  come  forward. 
They  were  all  behind,  but  you  could  see  the  light  so  brightly 
I  picked  up  my  wraps  and  went  out. 

"I  went  out  by  the  same  way  I  entered.  At  the  lower  floor 
about  a  hundred  people  were  trying  to  get  out.  The  doors 
were  locked.  When  I  left  the  charred  remnants  of  the  scenery 
were  falling  down  in  large  chunks  onto  the  stage,  and  the  lights 
were  so  bright  that  they  scared  me,  and  I  got  up,  but  the 
flames  had  not  reached  the  stage  yet  when  I  left,  but  when  I 
got  down  to  the  exit  and  I  turned  my  head  there  was  a  mass 
of  flames  behind;  it  was  all  flames,  and  yet  I  did  not  hear  a 
sound." 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER*  257 

UP  AGAINST  LOCKED  DOORS. 

Ebson  Ryburn,  stock  broker,  3449  Prairie  avenue,  Chicago : 
"I  was  at  the  box  office  with  the  intention  of  purchasing 
tickets  for  the  night;  I  went  to  the  box  office  about  3 130  p.  m., 
and  when  I  went  in  there  were  three  or  four  others  ahead  of  me. 
Suddenly  I  heard  some  commotion  on  the  inside  and  several 
persons  rushed  out,  and  there  must  have  been  as  many  as  five 
or  six,  I  guess,  got  out,  and  then  I  heard  a  woman  cry  Tire.' 
Up  to  that  time  I  did  not  think  it  was  anything  serious.  I 
thought  probably  it  was  a  scare  and  I  looked  in  through  the 
door  and  I  saw  more  coming — rushing — and  I  rushed  over  to 
hold  the  doors  open,  and  did  so  for  a  length  of  time  urftil 
quite  a  number  got  out,  and  I  noticed  several  going  to  the  door 
next  to  it;  that  is,  the  last  door  west;  and  then  came  over  to 
this  other  door. 

"They  tried  to  push  it  open.  I  left  where  I  was  and  went  to 
that  door  and  tried  to  force  it  open  and  could  not.  I  saw  be- 
tween the  two  doors  a  bolt  or  a  bar,  and  there  was  quite  a 
number  coming  out  the  other  door  then  and  I  saw  there  was 
no  chance  to  come  out,  and  I  tried  to  open  the  other  door  op- 
posite that  leading  into  the  street,  and  that  door  was  in  the 
same  condition,  locked  or  bolted ;  it  was  fastened ;  I  could  not 
get  out  of  that  door  and  I  could  not  get  in  the  other.  Then 
there  were  quite  a  number  coming  out,  and  I  noticed  several 
men,  and  by  that  time  I  could  see  smoke,  a  little  haze  of  smoke, 
and  every  one  coming  out  seemed  to  be  frightened,  crazy-like, 
and  so  I  got  out  myself  into  the  street.  The  fire  department 
had  not  yet  arrived." 

BLOWN  INTO  THE  ALLEY. 

Mrs.  James  D.  Pinedo,  478  North  Hoyne  avenue,  Chicago  i 
"I  reacted  the  theater  to  attend  the  fatal  matinee  late,  abou* 


258  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

2 125  o'clock.  The  performance  was  in  progress  and  we  could 
not  secure  seats,  so  we  got  standing  room  tickets  and  entered. 
When  I  reached  the  extreme  right  of  the  theater  the  people 
were  only  standing  one  deep.  There  was  a  space  there  where 
I  could  see  the  stage,  especially  the  left  part  of  the  stage  where 
the  sparks  started,  and  the  curtain  had  just  rung  up  for  the 
second  act,  a  few  minutes  after  the  chorus  was  singing,  when 
I  saw  a  man  using  his  hands  trying  to  put  out  the  sparks. 
When  I  saw  those  few  sparks  I  quietly  turned  around  to  see 
if  there  was  any  fire  escape  or  exit  on  that  floor  in  case  there 
should  be  a  fire,  and  I  didn't  move  because  I  was  afraid  of 
precipitating  a  panic.  I  simply  turned  my  head  and  I  saw 
what  I  supposed  was  an  exit.  I  couldn't  tell. 

"I  saw  drapery  and  naturally  supposed,  being  a  theater-goer, 
that  it  masked  an  exit.  I  turned  back  to  the  stage  then,  and 
in  the  meantime  these  sparks  had  changed  into  flames,  and  I 
put  on  my  rubbers — I  was  very  calm  at  the  time — and  I  got 
ready  to  move  out.  Eddie  Foy  told  us  to  be  perfectly  quiet 
and  avoid  a  panic,  and  there  were  also  some  men  and  women 
in  the  back  part  of  the  audience  who  also  told  the  people  to 
sit  down.  I  have  never  seen  an  audience  who  were  saner  than 
these  women  and  children.  They  sat  perfectly  still  I  should 
say  for  at  least  two  minutes,  while  those  sparks  changed  into 
flames.  They  were  perfectly  calm.  I  think  most  of  these 
women  realized  there  were  little  children  there.  The  audience 
was  nearly  packed  full  of  children. 

"Then  I  saw  the  big  ball  of  flame  come  out  from  the  stage 
and  fall  in  the  auditorium  of  the  theater  on  the  heads  of  those 
in  front,  and  I  thought,  'Now  is  the  time  to  get  out.'  I  walked 
quietly  to  what  I  thought  was  an  exit,  and  there  was  a  little 
man  there  before  me,  who  had.  torn  aside  the  drapery,  and  I 
saw  an  iron  door  or  doors  heavily  bolted,  and  we  couldn't  get 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  259 

them  open.  It  was  bolted  and  I  heard  this  man  ask  the  usher 
to  please  unlock  the  door,  and  he  refused.  The  usher  was 
standing  there  and  we  were  frantically,  of  course,  trying  to  get 
the  door  open,  but  it  would  not  open,  and  I  judge  we  were 
standing  at  least  two  minutes,  probably  a  minute  and  a  half — 
time  that  seemed  long  enough  in  a  case  like  that. 

"Finally  the  man  induced  this  usher  to  try  and  open  the 
door.  At  least  they  were  trying  to,  the  two  of  them,  and  I 
was  right  behind  them — trying  to  open  that  door — when  all  of 
a  sudden  there  was  a  rush  of  wind.  I  thought  at  the  time  it 
was  an  explosion,  because  I  didn't  know  of  any  force  powerful 
enough  to  open  those  iron  doors,  and  those  iron  doors  Blew 
open,  and  blew  us  into  the  alley.  Of  course  that  is  my  last 
recollection.  I  was  then  safe." 

JUST  OUT  IN  TIME, 

Ella  M.  Churcher,  850  Washington  boulevard,  Chicago: 
"I  occupied  the  fourth  row  from  the  front  in  the  top  gallery, 
seats  42,  43  and  44,  with  my  mother  and  nephew.  I  was  sit- 
ting in  the  middle.  A  shower  of  sparks  was  the  first  suggestion 
of  fire.  Then  the  curtain  was  lowered  and  Eddie  Foy  stepped 
out.  I  couldn't  hear  his  words.,  but  his  motions  were  to  sit 
down  and  keep  our  seats,  and  we  did  so  until  I  saw  the  red 
curtain  that  went  down  after  the  first  act  give  away  in  the 
upper  left  hand  corner  and  pieces  fell,  making  a  large  opening. 
It  was  on  fire. 

Then  we  got  up  and  had  to  go  about  ten  feet,  that  took  us  to 
the  wall,and  three  steps  to  go  up  to  the  exit  leading  to  the  mar- 
ble stairway.  As  we  turned  the  last  look  I  caught  was  a  tongue 
of  fire  leaping  to  the  gallery  and  a  cloud  of  smoke  with  it,  and 
we  got  the  heat  from  it,  scorching  and  blistering  both  of  my 


26o 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER, 


ears  and  both  my  nostrils  and  scorching  my  hair  and  chiffon 
boa  on  my  neck.  At  that  instant  we  stepped  out  on  the  marble 
stairway,  right  out  of  it,  and  we  got  down  stairs  safely,  and 
then  we  passed  out  to  the  street 

SPORTING  MEN  TESTIFY. 

Frank  Houseman,  293  Warren  avenue,  Chicago: 

"Dexter,  the  baseball  player,  and  I  dropped  into  the  Iroquois 
that  afternoon  about  2:20  and  found  the  house  sold  out 
with  the  exception  of  two  boxes  and  standing  room.  We 
bought  a  couple  of  seats  in  an  upper  box  and  went  in.  The 
house  was  crowded  and  it  was  dark,  for  the  performance  was 
in  progress.  We  found  an  usher  and  started  up  the  stairway 
to  the  box.  The  stairway  was  pitch  dark. 

"  'This  is  a  dark  stairway;  this  is  funny  they  don't  have  a 
light  or  something  here,'  I  said  to  my  friend.  I  stumbled  a 
couple  of  times  going  up  the  stairway.  Finally  we  got  to  where 
we  were  seated.  Well,  during  the  intermission  between  the 
first  and  second  acts  we  had  a  good  view  of  the  audience,  being 
up  high,  and  I  remarked  to  my  friend  that  there  were  a  great 
many  women  and  children  present  in  event  of  any  trouble. 

"When  the  curtain  rose  for  the  second  act,  if  I  can  remem- 
ber, probably  five  or  ten  minutes  after,  I  noticed  a  spark  directly 
on  the  opposite  side  to  the  stage  in  behind.  We  were  sitting 
up  where  we  viewed  the  audience  and  it  was  very  easy  for 
us  to  distinguish  the  spark,  and  I  saw  a  man — it  looked  as 
though  he  was  on  a  pedestal  of  some  kind ;  it  must  have  been 
a  bridge  of  some  kind  that  he  was  standing  on — working  to 
put  out  the  light,  so  I  quietly  said  to  my  friend :  'Do  you  see 
those  sparks  over  there?'  He  says:  'Yes;  they  will  put  that 
out  all  right.' 
<  ".Well,  I  instantly  thought  about  the  stairway  that  I  had  to 


IROQUO1S  THEATER  DISASTER.  261 

come  up  getting  into  this  box,  and  somehow  or  other  I  could 
not  get  it  out  of  my  mind.  I  said :  'Well,  now,  I  don't  know  ; 
we  better  get  down  near  the  door — it  looks  pretty  good — the 
outside.'  So  we  finally  started,  and  as  we  started  out  of  the  box 
I  suggested  that  he  tell  the  gentleman  and  lady  that  were  in  the 
box  with  us  that  they  had  better  come  on,  which  I  understand 
he  did.  He  came  down  the  stairs. 

"It  was  a  blast  of  flame  or  fire,  a  sort  of  ball  or  something 
that  appeared  to  me  like  it  was  a  lot  of  scenery  that  was  burn- 
ing down,  scenery  or  flimsy  work.  It  burnt  a  great  deal  on  the 
order  of  paper.  All  I  thought  of  was  the  opening  of  that  door, 
because  the  people  at  that  time  were  crowding  close  to  me  and 
screaming  and  hallooing,  and  I  don't  just  remember  just  how  I 
got  that  door  open,  but  anyway  it  opened  and  carried  the 
crowd  out.  I  tried  to  do  what  I  could  around  there  for  the 
people  that  were  being  trampled  on,  trying  to  pull  them  out 
from  the  middle  of  the  alley  and  start  them  on  their  way  if  they 
were  not  too  badly  hurt,  until  they  began  ^jumping  off  the  fire 
escapes  above,  and  I  noticed  and  looked  up  and  saw  that  the, 
people  were  not  moving. 

"The  flames  by  that  time  had  come  out  of  the  top  exits 
that  were  open,  and  the  fire  escape  held 'all  the  people  it  could 
and  the  flames  were  surrounding  them,  and  they  were  jumping, 
and  those  that  were  not  pushed  off  jumped  off.  I  was  trying 
to  get  the  people  on  the  lower  fire  escape,  which — I  can 
guess  at  it — was  probably  ten  or  fifteen  feet  from  the 
ground.  We  got  a  couple  of  them  to  jump  down  because 
it  was  but  a  little  ways  up;  they  began  jumping  right  from 
overhead  and  of  course  I  had  to  look  out  that  no  one  fell  on 
me,  or  would  jump  on  me,  and  I  could  not  do  very  much  of 
anything,  only  to  pull  out  the  people  being  trampled  upon,  and 


262  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

pull  them  to  one  side,  until  one  man  jumped  on,  I  think,  three 
bodies,  and  started  to  get  up  and  go  away,  and  was  just  about 
in  a  rising  position  when  there  was  a  lady  fell  on  him,  and  he 
didn't  move  after  that.  It  became  so  dangerous  then  that  I 
had  to  get  away. 

"My  intentions  were  to  go  around  and  out  the  same  way  I 
got  in,  or  to  get  near  the  door,  because  I  remarked  to  him 
when  I  got  down  stairs :  'We  may  have  to  help  some  of  these 
little  children  here  in  case  they  don't  put  this  out/  although  I 
thought  they  would  put  it  out.  Well,  there  were  three  or  four 
people  standing  along  there,  and  when  we  reached  the  main 
floor  just  about  that  time  the  audience  began  to  notice  there  was 
a  fire. 

"Previous  to  this  time  they  had  not  seen  it  and  they  began  to 
mumble  and  some  of  them  to  rise,  and  Mr.  Foy  came  out  and 
tried  to  quiet  them  by  stating  that  it  was  merely  a  little  curtain 
fire ;  that  they  would  put  it  out,  and  to  be  as  quiet  as  possible. 
It  seemed  to  relieve  them.  A  great  many  of  them  returned  to 
their  seats.  I  thought  I  could  hear  Mr.  Foy  speak  to  some  one 
back  in  the  scenery  as  though  he  was  waiting  for  the  drop 
curtain. 

"Well,  it  began  to  look  pretty  bad  about  that  time  and  I 
looked  around  and  I  saw  the  curtains,  the  first  I  had  noticed  of 
the  exits  there.  I  said  to  some  one  standing  there,  'Where  does 
this  lead?'  He  says,  'Outside;'  so  I  stayed  there  probably 
thirty  seconds,  when  the  bits  of  scenery  and  pieces  of  fire  began 
to  drop  down  all  around  the  stage,  and  one  or  two  of  the  girls 
that  were  on  the  stage  at  the  time  of  the  octette,  fainted ;  well, 
I  pushed  this  fellow  aside,  and  for  a  moment — momentarily — 
looked  at  the  lock,  and  it  happened  to  be  a  lever  that  lifts  up. 

"I  am  familiar  with  it,  as  I  have  one  in  my  home,  and  I 
didn't  have  much  trouble  with  it,  but  I  was  kind  of  disap- 


1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  263 

pointed  when  I  opened  it,  because  I  thought  it  would  lead  out- 
side—when I  faced  the  iron  doors.  At  that  time  there  was  a 
big  blast  came  out  from  the  stage." 

Charles  Dexter,  professional  baseball  player : 

"I  met  Mr.  Houseman  and  he  invited  me  to  go  to  the  theater 
with  him,  and  we  went  together  and  we  were  a  little  bit  late. 
We  got  seats  in  an  upper  box. 

"The  house  was  quite  dark  when  we  went  in,  and  we  were 
ushered  into  the  right  hand  box,  that  is,  to  the  right  of  the 
stage;  I  guess  that  is  the  north  box,  and  we  got  to  see  about 
the  last  part  of  the  first  act,  and  just  about  two  minutes  after 
we  came  in  a  lady  and  gentleman  came  in  and  we  gave  them 
our  seats ;  they  sat  directly  in  front  of  us ;  I  took  the  back  seat, 
and  just  as  the  moonlight  scene  came  on,  the  octette,  Mr. 
Houseman  turned  to  me  and  said :  'Do  you  see  that  little  blaze?' 
And  I  told  him  I  did. 

"He  said :  'I  think  it  is  about  time  for  us  to  get  out  of  here.' 
I  told  him  I  thought  everything  would  be  all  right ;  that  he  had 
better  not  start  down  stairs  or  say  anything  that  would  be  liable 
to  cause  a  panic,  and  he  said  he  would  go  down  quietly,  and 
for  me  to  tell  the  people  ahead  of  me  what  to  do.  The  stair- 
way was  so  dark  I  tried  to  follow  out. 

"I  knew  he  had  started  down  the  steps,  and  I  had  to  wait 
and  light  a  match  to  tell  where  I  was  going  down  the  steps, 
from  the  box  down  to  the  first  floor.  I  lost  Mr.  House- 
man then;  I  looked  for  him  but  could  not  find  him,  and  I 
walked  around  and  stood  very  near  the  first  box.  By  that  time 
the  blaze  had  gone  up. 

"Mr.  Foy  was  on  the  stage  telling  the  people  to  be  quiet  or 
pass  out  quietly.  I  couldn't  tell  exactly  what  he  said,  and  I 
noticed  the  orchestra  seemed  inclined  to  leave,  and  I  could  hear 
him  yelling  to  the  leader  to  play,  which  he  did. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER, 

"They  played  for  quite  a  little  while;  then  the  fire  com- 
menced dropping  all  around  Mr.  Foy,  and  I  thought  that  I 
\vould  get  out,  go  out  from  the  front  door;  I  didn't  know 
any  other  means  of  exit,  and  I  started  out  that  way.  By  that 
time  the  people  had  started  out  of  their  seats  and  I  found  that 
I  could  not  get  out  that  way  very  well.  I  thought  that  the  best 
thing  that  I  could  do  would  be  to  come  back  and  jump  on  the 
stage,  hoping  to  get  out  the  stage  door.  People  were  running 
around,  and  I  didn't  know  what  to  do,  and  I  ran  into  a  crowd 
of  little  children. 

"The  people  were  running  over  one  another.  I  saw  some 
draperies  hanging  and  I  opened  them.  I  didn't  know  where 
I  was  going,  and  I  found  two  doors  of  glass  or  wood.  I  didn't 
stop  to  examine  them  but  I  opened  them.  I  found  myself  up 
against  some  iron  doors.  I  didn't  know  how  to  work  them. 
The  only  thing  I  could  see  was  a  cross-bar,  and  I  started  to 
shove  that  up,  and  I  couldn't  shove  very  well,  and  I  started 
to  beat  at  it.  By  that  time  the  people  were  pushed  up  against 
me,  and  I  didn't  know  whether  I  would  be  able  to  get  it  open  or 
not.  I  had  all  the  poor  little  kids  around  me,  and  I  beat  the 
thing  until  finally  it  went  up,  and  as  it  did  of  course  the  people 
behind  me — we  went  out  into  the  alley. 

"I  turned  and  looked  back  and  saw  a  wave  of  fire  sweeping 
over  the  whole  inside  .of  the  theater." 

AN  ELGIN  PHYSICIAN'S  TALE. 
Dr.  De  Lester  Sackett,  Elgin,  111. :       * 


" 


I  attended  the  fateful  matinee  performance,  accompanied 
by  my  wife,  my  sister-in-law  and  my  little  girl.  We  occupied 
seats  in  the  third  row  of  the  first  balcony  at  the  extreme  north 
end  of  the  theater,  next  to  the  alley.  At  the  time  the  fire 
broke  out  we  were  sitting  where  we  could  look  right  over  to 


1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER,  265 

the  extreme  left  of  the  stage,  and  what  seemed  to  be  a  couple  of 
limes,  or  an  electric  light;  we  could  see  sparks  dropping  from 
that  sometimes.  We  could  not  see  the  light  itself,  but  could 
see  those  sparks,  evidently  dropping  from  that  kind  of  a  light. 

"That  was  my  first  impression  upon  seeing  it.  And  instantly 
there  was  more  or  less  excitement,  and  the  party  who  played  the 
part  of  "Bluebeard"'  came  to  the  extreme  front  of  the  stage  at 
our  extreme  left  and  tried  to  allay  the  excitement  by  making 
motions  with  his  hands,  keeping  the  orchestra  playing  and  the 
girls  dancing,  at  the  same  time  trying  to  get  the  audience  tc 
keep  quiet.  He  said  that  there  was  danger  from  excitement, 
but  not  much  danger  from  the  fire. 

"There  was  much  excitement  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  my 
seats,  with  no  gentlemen  nearer  than  the  three  gentlemen  sit- 
ting a  little  further  to  my  right  and  back  in  the  second  section 
from  us  towards  the  rear  were  two  young  men ;  all  others  were 
women  and  children.  There  seemed  to  be  perfect  confusion 
and  I  rose  to  my  feet  and  tried  to  quiet  them,  and  counseled 
that  they  should  not  become  excited ;  that  there  was  more  dan- 
ger from  a  panic  than  there  was  from  the  fire.  I  never  dreamed 
that  the  fire  could  reach  us  there,  and  we  had  to  keep  our  posi- 
tions in  our  seats,  as  I  had  counseled  others  to  keep  quiet,  and  it 
would  not  look  very  well  for  us  to  take  the  lead  then  and  run, 
so  we  remained  there  until  my  wife  said  to  me,  'Every  one  has 
left  their  seats,  and  we  must  get  out  of  here.' 

"I  then  turned  and  looked  at  the  stage  and  saw  how  the  fire 
had  progressed  and  said  to  her :  'It  is  a  race  with  death,'  and 
I  tried  then  to  get  my  little  girl,  who  wras  eleven  years  old, 
next  to  me.  She  w-as  sitting  next  to  the  aisle.  I  reached  be- 
yond my  wife  and  sister-in-law  and  I  got  my  little  girl  and 
then  I  tried  to  crowd  them  into  the  aisle. 

"The  pressure  was  so  great  I  could  not  get  them  into  the 


266  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

* 

aisle.  People  crowded  up  the  aisle  so  thick  I  could  not  get  them 
in  there,  and  I  discovered  the  seats  in  our  rear  had  been 
vacated.  Everybody  was  getting  to  the  aisle,  and  I  told  my 
wife  our  only  show. was  over  these  seats,  and  I  took  my  little 
girl  and  started  and  told  them  to  follow  me,  which  they  did. 
At  that  time  in  the  extreme  left-hand  corner  back  of  us  we 
could  see  light  coming  up — they  had  got  an  opening  there 
in  the  rear  of  this  balcony. 

"We  couldn't  see  any  opening,  but  we  could  see  the  light 
from  the  opening,  and  then  we  went  over  the  seats.  I  didn't 
look  back  after  I  started.  My  wife  and  sister-in-law  followed 
us,  and  we  went  over  the  seats  and  out  of  that  rear  exit  back  of 
the  seats  to  the  extreme  north  into  the  alley,  where  we  found 
a  fire  escape. 

"The  doors  were  open  when  we  got  there,  but  I  cannot  help 
but  feel  that  if  we  had  started  sooner  we  would  not  have  got  to 
those  doors.  If  we  had  waited  longer  we  certainly  would  not 
have-  got  through.  My  ears  are  still  not  healed  from  the  burn- 
ing they  got.  My  nose  was  burned,  and  my  sister-in-law's 
bandages  have  not  been  removed  from  her  face  yet,  she  was 
burned  so  bad,  and  it  was  all  from  hot  air  coming  from  that 
stage. 

.  "On  the  first  landing  from  the  exit  we  went  out  of,  evidently 
two  ladies  had  turned  and  were  coming  up  the  fire  escape,  in- 
stead of  going  the  other  way,  they  were  so  confused.  I  told 
them  to  turn  and  go  down.  They  did  not  until  I  reached  them 
and  I  took  hold  of  one  lady  and  turned  her  around  and  started 
her  down  and  pushed  the  shutter  back  against  the  wall — 
I  remember  that  very  distinctly — and  then  we  went  on 
down  and  when  I  got  to  the  foot  of  the  escape  I  turned  my 
child  over  to  my  wife  and  went  back  for  my  sister-in-law  and 
crowded  my  way  up  between  the  people  by  keeping  to  the  ex- 


IROQUO1S  THEATER  DISASTER.  267 

treme  outside  railing,  and  got  up  probably  to  the  first  landing 
and  found  her  coming  down. 

"It  is  my  impression  that  the  curtain  that  was  lowered  was 
burned.  I  know  that  when  the  party  playing  the  part  of 
"Bluebeard"  was  out  there  he  kept  those  girls  dancing  until 
one  of  them  fainted,  and  they  lifted  her  up,  and  I  thought  it 
was  the  most  heroic  thing  I  ever  saw,  those  girls  remaining 
there  with  the  fire  dropping  all  about  them  and  still  dancing  in 
an  effort  to  quiet  the  audience.  The  draft  was  something  fear- 
ful. It  carried  the  fire  with  it.  The  flames  came  clear  out 
over  the  parquet,  and  so  much  so  that  after  I  started  up  those 
steps  we  didn't  dare  to  look  back." 

MR.  MEMHARD'S  DIFFICULT  EXIT. 

Albert  A.  Memhard,  750  Greenleaf  avenue,  Rogers  Park, 
Chicago : 

"I  attended  the  matinee  performance  at  the  Iroquois,  De- 
cember 30,  1903.  I  was  sitting  in  section  A,  the  tenth  seat  in 
the  first  row  in  the  first  balcony  or  dress  circle  on  the  north  side 
of  the  house,  and  on  the  right  hand  with  reference  to  the  stage. 
I  was  between  two  aisles  just  about  the  middle  of  the  section. 
I  was  there  before  the  orchestra  started  to  play  and  saw  the 
curtain  go  up  before  the  first  act  and  the  same  curtain  come 
down  and  then  be  raised  before  the  second  act.  I  was  in  CQITI- 
pany  with  a  theater  party  made  up  of  Mr.  Gurnsey,  who  is 
employed  at  the  same  store  as  myself,  and  our  families.  Soon 
after  the  second  act  started  we  saw,  almost  all  of  us  at  about 
the  same  time,  sparks  of  fire  coming  from  the  left  hand  corner 
of  the  stage,  perhaps  eight  feet  from  the  top,  but  we  sat  still 
until  it  began  to  come  out  in  flames,  the  flames  dropping  on  the 
stage.  Then  we  started  out. 

"I  could  not  open  the  first  exit  door  I  reached.    I  then  went 


268 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


to  the  second  exit  and  after  some  trouble  I  got  it  open  by  lift- 
ing up  a  brass  lever.  Then  the  inside  doors  opened,  which 
were  wood  and  glass.  I  had  the  iron  doors  to  open  next.  I 
opened  them  by  lifting  a  loijg  bar.  I  went  out  on  the  fire 
escape  with  my  friends,  who  were  with  me  with  the  exception 
of  my  son,  who  had  gone  ahead,  following  the  crowd.  When 
I  saw  he  was  not  with  us  I  went  back  and  ran  almost  to  the 
top  of  the  stairs.  I  brought  him  back.  We  went  down  the 
fire  escape  and  out  the  alley  to  Dearborn  street. 

"The  fire  exits  were  all  covered  by  heavy  draperies  tfiat 
might  readily  be  mistaken  for  simple  decorations  and  were  not 
marked  or  labeled  in  any  way.  Neither  was  there  any  one  on 
hand  to  direct  the  crowd  how  to  get  out.  The  only  light  was 
the  illumination  afforded  by  the  fire." 

THE  THEATER  ENGINEER. 

Robert  E.  Murray,  676  Jackson  boulevard,  Chicago,  engi- 
neer at  the  Iroquois  theater : 

"I  was  down  stairs  underneath  the  stage  when  I  heard 
some  confusion  about  3 130  o'clock.  I  rushed  upstairs  onto  the 
stage  and  the  first  person  I  saw  \vas  the  house  fireman.  He  had 
some  kilfyre  and  was  trying  to  sprinkle  it  on  the  fire.  I  saw 
the  curtain  down  about  ten  feet  from  the  stage  and  I  tried  to 
jump  up  and  grab  it  to  pull  it  down,  but  it  was  out  of  my  reach. 
By  that  time  there  was  fire  coming  down  so  I  had  to  get  away 
from  there.  I  went  to  the  elevator  and  saw  that  the  boy  was 
making  trips  and  bringing  people  down  as  fast  as  he  could. 
When  I  saw  he  was  doing  his  duty  I  went  downstairs  and 
told  my  fireman  to  shut  off  steam  in  the  house  and  pull  the 
fires,  so  as  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  an  explosion. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  269 

,* 

RUSH  OF  CHORUS  GIRLS. 

"Then  some  of  the  musicians  and  chorus  girls  came  rushing 
through  and  they  wanted  to  know  which  way  out.  There  was 
a  door  in  the  smoking  room  in  the  basement  and  I  opened  it  foi 
them.  Some  went  out  that  way.  The  smoke  was  so  thick  that 
some  of  them  ran  back.  I  took  them  to  the  coal  hole  and 
shoved  them  out  of  the  coal  hole.  The  smoke  was  getting  so 
thick  in  there  we  could  hardly  stand  it,  so  I  told  the  fireman  to 
take  our  clothes  and  go  to  the  coal  hole  and  get  out.  I  stayed 
there  and  shut  the  steam  off  in  the  boilers,  and  was  trying  to 
get  the  fire  out  to  save  any  boiler  explosion  if  the  fire  should 
get  too  hot. 

"After  I  thought  everybody  was  out  of  there  I  made  a  trip 
around  the  dressing  rooms  in  the  basement  and  hallooed, 
'Everybody  out  down  here.'  Then  I  met  a  girl  by  the  name  ot 
Nellie  Reed.  She  was  up  against  the  wall  scratching  it  and 
screaming.  I  grabbed  her  and  went  out  with  her  to  the  street. 
I  went  back  to  the  boiler.  My  toolbox  was  there,  and  I  grabbed 
the  toolbox  and  jerked  it  back  on  the  coal  pile  and  then  I 
crawled  out  of  the  coal  hole  myself  into  the  fresh  air." 

A  SCHOOL  GIRL'S  ACCOUNT. 

Ruth  Michel,  school  girl,  698  North  Robey  street,  Chicago: 
"I  was  sitting  in  the  top  balcony  in  the  second  row  near  the 
north  or  alley  wall  when  the  fire  broke  out.  There  were  four 
in  our  party,  all  girls,  and  we  reached  our  seats  about  five  min- 
utes before  the  performance  began.  The  curtain  went  up  for 
the  second  act  and  there  was,  I  think,  about  twelve  actresses 
on  the  stage.  There  was  a  green  light  thrown  over  the  stage, 
to  represent  the  moonlight,  a  greenish  blue.  I  saw  a  man  at  the 
side  of  the  stage  making  motions  with  his  hands ;  I  didn't  know 
whether  he  was  coming  in  at  the  wrong  time  or  not,  and  then  I 


270 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


saw  a  spark  come  from  above  the  stage.  Then  a  spark  fell 
down,  and  one  of  the  women  in  our  party  said,  'We  will  get 
out  of  here,'  and  a  man  rose  and  said  he  would  knock  our 
heads  off  if  we  got  out,  so  we  sat  there.  Then  they  tried  to 
drop  a  curtain  and  it  didn't  come  down  very  far. 

"Then  they  dropped  another  curtain.  It  came  down  beyond 
the  one  that  got  stuck,  came  down  all  the  way,  I  think.  That 
one  caught  fire  right  away,  even  before  it  reached  the  stage. 
Then  an  awful  draft  came  and  it  blew  the  flames  right  out 
over  the  audience.  We  got  out  of  our  seats,  got  out  of  an  exit 
all  right  and  went  out  on  the  fire  escape.  I  got  down  two  or 
three  steps  and  we  were  driven  back  by  the  flames  below  us. 
The  heat  came  up  just  like  a  furnace  and  I  went  up  two  or  three 
steps  and  then  I  got  under  the  railing  and  dropped  to  the 
alley.  I  lit  on  my  toes  and  a  man  caught  me  at  the  same  time, 
so  I  was  not  hurt.  The  distance  was  the  same  as  from  the 
fourth  story  window  of  the  building  across  the  alley.  Men  in 
the  alley  called  to  rne  not  to  jump,  but  I  knew  I  had  to  jump 
or  else  burn  up,  because  the  flames  were  coming  up  so  right 
behind  me." 

"I  am  only  surprised  that  you  escaped  alive  to  tell  of  it," 

softly  commented  the  coroner. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

LACK  OF  FIRE  SAFEGUARDS. 

Examination  of  Robert  E.  Murray,  engineer  of  the  theater, 
and  through  that  fact,  the  man  in  charge  of  its  machinery  and 
mechanical  equipment,  revealed  in  a  startling  way  the  absolute 
unpreparation  for  fire  or  emergency  that  characterized  the  pa- 
latial opera  house.  Coroner,  jury  and  spectators  alike  were 
stirred  by  the  confession  of  absolute  disregard  for  life  evinced 
by  the  management  and  the  certainty  that  no  thought  had  been 
given  to  the  possibility  of  a  fire. 

The  entire  fire  equipment  of  the  Iroquois  as  described  by 
Murray  consisted  of  two  kilfyre  tubes  on  the  stage  and  one  be- 
low the  stage;  a  two  inch  stand  pipe  on  the  stage,  two  under 
the  stage,  and  one  near  the  coatroom  in  the  front  of  the  house. 
Only  one  of  these,  that  in  the  front  of  the  house,  was  equipped 
with  hose.  The  kilfyre  tubes  were  two  inches  in  diameter  and 
eighteen  inches  long.  Incidentally  Murray  said  that  the  fer- 
rule along  the  bottom  of  the  "asbestos"  curtain  was  of  wood, 
and  not  iron. 

Questions  and  answers  touching  on  these  conditions,  as 
given  under  oath,  follow: 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  the  employees  of  the  theater  were 
at  any  time  instructed  by  anybody  to  use  these  kilfyres  or  hose 
in  case  of  fire  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Was  there  anything  on  the  reel  of  hose  in  the  coatroom 
to  indicate  what  it  was  there  for  ? 

271 


272  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER, 

A.     No,  there  was  no  sign  en  it. 

Q.  Was  there  anything  there  to  tell  you  or  anybody  else 
how  to  use  the  hose  in  case  of  fire? 

A.  No,  sir.  The  hose  was  on  the  reel  and  all  you  would 
have  to  do 

Q.  Never  mind  what  you  would  have  to  do.  Was  there 
anything-  there  for  anybody  to  know  what  to  do? 

A.     No,  sir. 

The  witness  testified  that  when  he  reached  the  stage  after 
attending  to  his  engines,  the  "asbestos"  curtain  was  caught 
part  way  down. 

O.  No  signs  saying  "Exits"  or  "This  way  out"  or  any- 
thing? 

A.    No,  sir. 

Q.    Any  fire  alarm  boxes  that  you  know  of  in  case  of  fire  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     No  bells  to  ring  in  case  of  fire? 

A.     No. 

Q.     No  appliance  to  call  the  fire  department  in  case  of  fire? 

A.     No,  not  that  I  know  of. 

O.  What  would  you  have  to  do  in  case  of  a  fire,  go  out 
in  the  street  for  a  fire  alarm  or  fire  box? 

A.  If  I  could  not  put  it  out  I  would  run  to  the  box  or  to  the 
telephone. 

Q.  Do  you  know  where  the  wires  «were  that  worked  the 
ventilators,  where  they  were  located? 

A.     On  the  north  side  of  the  stage,  on  the  proscenium  wall. 

Q.     Who  had  charge  of  working  them? 

A.     The  people  on  the  stage. 

O.  What  do  you  know  about  the  skylights,  how  were  they 
opened  ? 

A.    I  never  noticed, 


HABEY  J.  POWEES, 
One  of  the  Theater  Managers  Arrested  for  Manslaughter. 


MONEOE  FTJLKERSON, 
Attorney  for  the  Fire  Department. 


EDDIE  FOY, 
Leading  Actor,  who  told  the  audience  to  go  out  slowly. 


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WILL  J.  DAVIS, 
One  of  the  Theater  Managers  Arrested  for  Manslaughter. 


1ROQUO1S  THEATER  DISASTER  289 

A  UNIVERSITY  STUDENT'S  STORY. 

Equally  damaging  testimony  was  given  by  Fred  H.  Rea, ' 
3231  South  Park  avenue,  a  student  at  the  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity Dental  School.    After  telling  of  the  scenes  when  "death 
alley"  was  bridged  by  planks  and  laddeis  thrust  from  the  school 
windows  he  told  of  the  death  jam  on  the  fire  escapes. 

Rea's  story  was  one  of  the  most  graphic  told  which  narrated 
the  horrors  of  Death's  Alley,  and  the  narrow  escape  of  those 
who  were  fortunate  enough  to  be  rushed  over  the  planks 
thrown  to  them  from  the  University  building.  It  was  not  only 
a  story,  but  an  additional  evidence  of  the  total  lack  of  prepara* 
tion  for  the  meeting  of  just  such  an  emergency. 

"At  the  time  the  fire  broke  out  I  was  in  the  Northwestern 
University  building  on  the  third  floor  in  the  law  school,"  he 
said.  "I  heard  something  that  sounded  like  an  explosion  and 
all  the  students  present  immediately  ran  to  the  lecture  Foom. 
There  we  met  some  painters  who  were  repairing  the  ceiling  in 
the  corridor.  They  joined  us,  bringing  with  them  three  planks 
and  ladders.  These  planks  we  placed  from  the  back  window  j 
of  the  lecture  room  across  to  the  upper  landing  of  the  gallery. 
One  ladder  was  placed  across  from  the  fire  escape  of  the  lec- 
ture room  to  the  second  landing.  Across  the  ladder,  I  think, 
only  one  person  came,  as  the  flames  from  the  exit  were  so  hot 
that  nobody  could  reach  it. 

"Fourteen  or  fifteen  persons  came  across  the  plank,  and  all 
but  three  or  four  were  badly  burned.  I  saw  at  least  three  per- 
sons try  to  pass  down  the  fire  escape  from  the  top  landing,  but 
they  were  unable  to  do  so,  because  at  the  second  landing  from 
the  top  the  doors  were  not  swung  clear  back  against  the  wall. 
The  doors  were  at  right  angles  to  the  wall,  and  through  the 
exit  smoke  was  pouring  and  part  of  the  time  flames  Several 


290  IROOUO1S  THEATER  DISASTER. 

people^on  the  tipper  landing-  deliberately  climbed  over  the  rail- 
ing and  dropped  to  the  alley  below. 

"I  saw  one  woman  drop  and  strike  a  ladder  which  was 
placed  to  the  fire  escape  and  bound  off  into  the  alley.  A  man 
climbed  out  over  and  was  clinging  by  his  hands,  when  one  of 
the  firemen  came  up  from  below  and  held  him  until  a  ladder 
could  be  run  up.  A  number  of  people  who  fell  in  the  jam  on 
the  exit  burned  right  there  before  our  eyes.  We  could  see  their 
clothes  on  fire.  That  was  on  the  landing  of  the  fire  escape, 
partly  in  and  partly  out  of  the  exit." 

A  CLERGYMAN'S  STORY. 

The  Rev.  Albertus  Perry,  5940  Princeton  avenue,  Chicago, 
was  passing  the  theater  when  the  panic  started.  He  ran  into 
the  vestibule  and  thence  into  the  foyer,  where  he  saw  men 
breaking  open  the  doors.  He  remained  but  a  short  time,  and 
left,  overcome  by  the  terrible  sight. 

'The  great  marble  hall  was  filled  with  madmen  and  hysteri- 
cal women  fleeing  for  life,"  he  declared.  "The  doors,  of  which 
there  appeared  to  be  several  sets,  were  lockd  against  them 
with  the  exception  of  the  center  door  of  each  set.  Men  were 
beating  against  the  steel  and  glass  barriers  and  women  crowded 
with  the  desperation  of  death  stamped  upon  their  faces.  Smoke 
was  puffing  out,  filling  the  beautiful  foyer  and  telling  in  awful 
eloquence  of  the  triumph  of  death  further  in.  I  could  do  noth- 
ing to  relieve  the  situation  for  there  was  nothing  within  the 
power  of  mortal  man  to  do  to  stop  the  horror.  So  I  left,  over- 
come by  the  terrible  sight  that  had  met  my  eyes." 

THE  FLY  MAN'S  STORY. 

Charles  Sweeney,  186  North  Morgan  street,  Chicago,  "fly 

man"  on  first  flying  gallery,  nearest  point  where  the  fire  started : 

"In  the  second  act,  in  the  Tale  Moonlight'  scene,  I  wa? 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  291 

sitting  on  a  bench,  and  there  were  two  or  three  more  of  the 
boys.  About  ten  feet  from  the  front  of  the  fly  gallery  I  saw  a 
bright  light.  The  other  boys  saw  it,  I  guess,  at  the  same  time 
and  we  ran  over  there.  I  saw  a  small  blaze  on  one  of  the 
borders.  I  don't  know  exactly  which  one.  I  hallooed  across 
the  stage  to  Joe  Dougherty.  He  was  the  man  taking  Sey- 
mour's place.  Seymour  was  sick.  I  said,  'Down  with  the  as- 
bestos curtain.'  Smithey  and  I  got  tarpaulins  and  we  slapped 
the  flame  with  them.  We  did  the  best  we  could  and  then  it 
got  out  of  our  reach.  It  went  right  along  the  border  toward 
the  center.  Then  it  burned  and  one  end  of  it  fell  down,  bent 
like.  Then  it  blazed  all  over  and  I  saw  there  was  no  possibil- 
ity of  doing  anything.  I  ran  upstairs  to  the  sixth  floor  and 
hallooed  to  the  girls.  I  led  them  down  in  front  of  me,  and  I 
kept  telling  them  to  be  careful  and  not  to  have  a  stampede  or 
anything  of  that  kind,  and  then  I  came  down  and  went  outside 
the  building." 

SCHOOL  TEACHER'S  THRILLING  EXPERIENCE. 

Alice  Kilroy,  67  Oregon  avenue,  Chicago,  a  Chicago  school 
teacher : 

"During  the  performance  I  stood  in  the  upper  balcony, 
right  near  the  alley ;  a  few  feet  from  the  top  exit  south,  about 
the  third  or  fourth  seat  from  the  end.  I  stood  right  back  of 
that.  When  the  fire  first  began  we  thought  it  was  part  of  the 
performance  and  my  sister  said  to  me,  very  calmly,  'Even  if 
there  is  no  fire,  let  us  go  out  in  the  exit.'  We  knew  this  was 
an  exit  because  we  had  seen  it  opened.  An  usher  had  been  out 
and  we  stepped  out  there.  • 

"As  soon  as  we  stepped  out  the  heat  was  intense  and  we  saw 
we  could  not  go  down  the  steps,  so  we  stood  there  on  the 
platform  of  the  fire  escape.  I  tried  to  get  in  the  theater  again, 
but  the  people  were  rushing  out  and  I  could  not  go  against  the 


292  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

mob.  I  saw  that  the  mob  was  trying1  to  get  out  of  the  exit, 
and  so  I  had  to  stand  right  where  I  was.  We  stood 
there  it  seemed  to  me,  about  six  minutes,  and  we  knew  we 
were  burning,  and  there  wasn't  anything  to  do  but  to 
stay  there.  We  couldn't  go  any  other  place.  After  a 
few  minutes  some  water  fell  on  us.  I  did  not  see  very  much 
because  I  held  a  collarette  up  to  my  face  to  protect  it  from  the 
hot  air,  which  was  unutterably  awful.  When  the  water  came 
that  kind  of  refreshed  us  and  dampened  the  fire  so  we  could 
stand  up  for  a  few  minutes  longer,  and  then  a  plank  was  nut 
from  the  opposite  building  and  we  went  over  the  plank  and  es- 
caped to  the  Northwestern  University  building.  The  crowd 
behind  us  that  had  been  fighting  and  pushing  so  hard  seemed 
to  die  away  and  collapse  all  in  an  instant.  The  scrambling 
and  pushing  ceased.  This  crowd  was  at  the  entrance  to  the 
door.  Something  happened  to  them  and  they  did  not  have  any 
life,  because  they  did  not  push  when  I  turned  back.  When  I 
first  started  to  go  in — when  I  turned  back — there  was  lots  of 
life,  then  I  turned  and  faced  them,  the  mob  going  out,  because 
it  was  so  hot  out  there  I  thought  I  could  go  back  in  the  theater. 
Part  of  them  fell  on  the  floor  and  part  outside  on  the  fire  escape 
platform.  I  think  I  was  the  last  to  escape  alive  over  the  planks 
across  the  alley.  I  was  terribly  burned;  you  can  see  by  the 
bandages  that  I  don't  dare  to  take  off  yet." 

GLEN  VIEW  MAN'S  EXPERIENCE. 

Walter  Flentye,  Glen  View : 

"I  occupied  seat  7  in  section  R,  handy  to  the  entrance.  I 
think  it  was  about  half-past  3,  while  that  octet  was  singing 
there  in  the  pale  moonlight,  that  I  just  noticed  a  kind  of  a 
hesitation  on  the  part  of  the  octet,  and  pretty  soon  I  saw  a  few 
sparks  begin  to  come  down  about  the  size  of  those  from  a  ro- 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  293 

man  candle.  They  were  coming  down  from  the  upper  left 
hand  corner  of  the  stage,  and  pretty  soon  the  fire  began  to  grow 
more  and  more,  and  I  should  say  that  pieces  of  burning  rags 
dropped  down  of  different  sizes.  About  that  time  Eddie  Foy 
came  out  and  tried  to  calm  the  audience.  I  don't  just  exactly 
remember  what  he  said,  and  I  kept  my  seat.  I  had  no  idea 
that  there  was  to  be  anything  of  that  kind ;  that  the  fire  was 
to  be  as  large  as  it  was,  and  the  audience  down  below  were  go- 
ing out.  I  had  a  friend  beside  me  that  left.  I  don't  remem- 
ber just  what  I  said  to  him.  He  said  he  was  going 
and  he  went  out  and  a  little  later  I  got  up,  and,  without 
any  trouble,  went  through  the  door,  and  I  went  immediately 
to  the  check  room.  I  had  checked  a  valise  and  umbrella,  and 
at  that  time  I  had  no  idea  of  any  such  a  fire  as  that.  So  I 
thought  I  had  plenty  of  time  and  I  took  my  valise  and  umbrella 
and  set  them  on  a  settee  to  the  left  of  the  foyer  and  put  on  my 
overcoat  and  hat. 

"When  I  first  came  out  I  noticed  that  there  were  a  lot  of 
women  that  were  almost  frenzied  by  the  excitement  and  they 
were  around  toward  the  entrance,  and  I  noticed  one  man  car- 
rying a  woman.  That  was  while  I  was  going  to  the  checkroom, 
and  after  I  had  put  on  my  coat  I  looked  and  there  were  two 
women  and  a  man  that  went  to  the  door  to  look  in,  and  I  kind 
of  thought  the  woman  might  rush  in,  so  I  said,  'Don't  go  back, 
it  is  too  late  now.'  And  they  all  turned  around  and  I  lookefl 
once  more  and  by  that  time  it  looked  as  though  there  was  a 
mass  of  fire  belched  out,  and  I  remember  seeing  it  catch  the 
front  seats,  and  after  I  went  out  and  walked  across  the  street 
and  I  talked  to  a  policeman  who  stood  in  front  of  Vaughn's 
store  and  by  that  time  about  eight  or  ten  policemen  came 
along  from  down  Randolph  street,  and  shortly  after  the  fire- 
men came.  Then  for  the  first  time  I  realized  what  a  terrible 


294  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

thing  I  had  escaped  and  the  true  horror  of  the  situation  un- 
folded itself;' 


THE  LIGHT  OPERATOR. 

William  Wertz,  12024  Union  avenue,  West  Pullman,  111. : 
"I  was  operating  a  light  on  the  rear  part  of  the  stage  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  fire.  I  noticed  that  the  actors,  eight  boys, 
were  looking  up  toward  the  right  hand  of  their  places,  and  as 
soon  as  they  did  that  I  stepped  back  one  or  two  feet,  still  hold- 
ing my  lamp  in  sight  so  as  to  attend  to  it  should  it  go  down. 
I  looked  toward  the  place  that  the  people  had  gazed  and  I  no- 
ticed a  small  blaze  there  upon  a  little  platform  used  for  throw- 
ing a  light  on  the  front  of  the  stage.  As  I  looked  there  I  saw 
the  fireman  of  the  house,  who  was  back  on  the  stage,  running 
forward  hallooing,  'Lower  down  the  curtain !'  and  climb  up  to 
the  little  platform.  He  had  either  taken  a  tube  of  kilfyre  in 
his  hand  or  there  was  one  up  there,  as  I  very  distinctly  saw  him 
sprinkle  it  on  the  fire.  Then  the  man  took  his  hands  and  tried 
to  tear  down  the  blazing  pieces  of  scenery. 

"Then  I  saw  one  drop  after  another  go  into  the  flame.  I 
saw  a  lot  of  people  running  up  to  that  point  of  the  fire,  others 

r 

from  the  balcony  dressing  rooms  come  running  down,  and  on 
the  side  of  me,  or  close  to  the  door  were  several  girls  becoming 
hysterical,  excited.  That  was  at  the  stage  door  opening  onto  a 
little  bridge-like  platform  leading  to  Dearborn  street.  I  went 
up  to  the  girls  and  said,  'Come  on,  girls,  get  out  of  here  as  soon 
as  possible.'  I  took  one  by  the  arm  and  put  her  out. 

"When  I  came  out  there  the  girls  started  to  run  forward, 
and  I  went  in  again,  because  I  was  in  my  shirt  sleeves  and  I 
wanted  to  take  my  coat  and  save  what  goods  I  had.  As  soon 
as  I  entered  the  stage  again  I  heard  a  lot  of  noise  and  crying 
and  calling  and  I  went  forward  to  that  point  and  succeeded 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  295 

in  pulling  some  more  of  the  young  ladies  out.  Then  when  I 
got  on  the  little  bridge  leading  from  the  stage  to  Dearborn 
street,  I  noticed  that  the  whole  scenery  was  in  a  blaze,  that  it 
was  falling  down  and  I  tried  to  get  in  again,  but  through  the 
enormous  heat,  and  I  believe  that  the  city  fire  people  just  had 
arrived  there  with  the  hose  and  pulled  me  back  so  I  couldn't 
get  in  there  any  more. 

"I  know  there  was  an  asbestos  curtain  in  the  theater  and 
that  it  was  used.  During  the  time  I  have  been  connected  with 
different  theaters  through  the  country  I  have  always  looked  up 
to  the  curtains,  and  often  put  my  hands  on  them.  What  was 
called  by  employees  in  the  house  the  asbestos  curtain,  and  also 
in  several  theaters  in  Chicago,  has  written  on  it,  'asbestos  cur- 
tain.' When  I  entered  this  house  on  several  occasions  before 
the  show  I  saw  this  particular  curtain  hanging  there,  a  dirty 
white  color,  and  on  one  or  two  occasions,  in  passing  by,  I 
pushed  my  hand  against  it  and  it  felt  to  me  exactly  like  other 
curtains  hanging  in  Chicago,  and  on  which  'asbestos'  is  written. 
One,  for  instance,  in  the  Grand  opera  house,  has  written  on  it 
'asbestos/  and  is  the  same  color  in  the  back  and  has  the  same 
feeling  when  you  put  your  hands  on  it  as  this  one  in  the  Iro- 
qucis  theater. 

"It  was  that  curtain  Sailers,  the  house  fireman,  was  shouting 
for  when  I  heard  him.  The  fireman  said,  'Down  with  that  cur- 
tain,' and  the  other  voice,  which  I  thought  was  Mr.  Carleton's, 
the  stage  manager,  said,  'For  God's  sake  lower  that  curtain.' 
Several  other  voices  hallooed  out,  'What  is  the  matter  with  the 
curtain  ?  Down  with  the  curtain/  But  it  didn't  fall  and  the 
holocaust  followed." 


296  IROOUO1S  THEATER  DISASTER, 

x» 

THE  JAMMED  THEATER. 

The  unlawful  and  deadly  crowded  condition  of  the  theater 
at  the  time  of  the  fire  was  emphasized  by  the  testimony  of  Ru- 
pert D.  Laughlin,  1505  Wrightwood  avenue,  who,  although  he 
reached  the  theater  before  the  curtain  went  up,  found  the  spaces 
behind  the  seats  crowded  and  people  sitting  on  the  steps  in  the 
aisles.  Laughlin  and  Miss  Lucy  Lucas,  his  niece,  had  seats  in 
the  second  balcony,  or  gallery. 

"We  went  into  the  theater  about  ten  minutes  before  the  or- 
chestra come  out  and  had  some  difficulty  in  getting  into  our 
seats,"  he  said,  "on  account  of  the  people  standing  in  the  aisles 
and  at  the  back.  The  people  were  sitting  on  the  steps. 

"The  steps  were  very  steep  and  people  occupied  them  quite  a 
way  down.  They  had  to  rise  and  stand  aside  to  let  us  make  our 
way  to  our  seats.  There  was  a  man  and  a  woman  sitting  on  the 
step  right  beside  our  seats.  At  the  end  of  the  first  act  I  went 
out  to  the  foyer.  I  had  considerable  difficulty  getting  out. 
There  was  a  great  deal  larger  crowd  in  the  aisles  and  sitting 
on  the  steps  than  there  was  when  we  came  down  n*rj»t.  They 
were  strung  along  the  aisle  and  there  were  a  great  many  women 
on  the  steps.  I  went  out  and  walked  around  for  a  while  and 
then  came  back  and  took  my  seat.  I  had  to  make  the  women 
get  up  as  I  was  coming  down  the  aisle  again. 

"When  the  fire  started  I  went  right  to  the  first  exit  and  out 
on  the  fire  escape  platform.  When  I  got  to  the  door  there  were 
flames  and  a  great  deal  of  smoke  coming  out  from  a  window 
that  was  near  there,  and  we  couldn't  go  out  at  that  time,  so 
we  waited  for  a  few  seconds,  and  the  fire  died  down.  Then 
we  went  down  the  fire  escape  to  the  alley. 

"Many  other  people  escaped  by  the  same  means  before  us^ — 
at  least  I  should  judge  there  was,  because  we  saw  a  number  of 
hats  and  furs  and  things  of  that  sort  on  the  steps.  There  wasn't 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  297 

anybody  coming  down  in  back  or  in  front  of  us  while  we  were 
going  down.'* 

GAS  EXPLOSION  HOURS  BEFORE  THE  FIRE. 

That  the  explosion  of  a  gas  tank  came  near  destroying  the 
Iroquois  theater  a  few  hours  previous  to  the  performance  on 
the  opening  night,  about  a  month  before,  was  testified  to  by 
John  Bickles,  6711  Rhodes  avenue.  According  to  Bickles,  a 
gas  tank  under  the  stage  exploded  with  such  force  that  flames 
shot  over  an  eight-foot  partition.  It  was  only  after  a  hard 
fight  on  the  part  of  employes  of  the  theater  and  the  fact  that 
there  was  little  inflammable  material  near  the  fire  that  the 
flames  were  subdued.  Bickles  stated  that  he  did  not  know  what 
sort  of  a.  gas  tank  exploded,  as  he  did  not  inquire  of  the  other 
employees.  At  the  time  he  was  standing  in  a  room  opposite 
the  one  in  which  the  gas  tank  exploded. 

"The  flames  leaped  over  an  eight-foot  partition,  but  did  not 
burn  me,"  said  Bickles.  "I  went  on  to  the  stage  soon  after  the 
explosion  and  the  next  day  was  discharged  by  the  George  A. 
Fuller  company,  builders  of  the  theater,  by  whom  I  was  em- 
ployed as  a  carpenter.  There  was  no  work  was  the  reason. 
There  were  a  number  of  actresses  and  sewing  women  in  the 
theater  at  the  time  of  the  explosion.  The  first  performance 
was  to  be  given  that  evening  and  everybody  was  making  ready. 
I  was  the  person  who  fixed  the  wall  plates  for  the  skylights, 
but  I  never  saw  them  after  they  were  finished." 

From  Bickles'  testimony  it  seemed  the  George  A.  Fuller 
company  had  kept  a  number  of  its  men  in  the  theater  after  it 
was  occupied  by  the  Iroquois  Theater  company.  They  were 
completing  unfinished  details.  The  fact  of  the  fire,  he  said, 
was  hushed  up. 


298  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

PANIC  AMONG  THEATER  EMPLOYEES. 

Gilbert  McLean,  a  scene  shifter,  at  work  on  the  stage  when 
the  fire  started,  told  of  the  failure  of  the  fire  extinguisher  to 
put  out  the  blaze,  and  declared  that  the  failure  of  the  fire  cur- 
tain to  drop  was  due  to  a  misunderstanding  among  the  men  in 
the  flies  who  were  supposed  to  operate  it.  Then  men  appeared 
not  to  know  what  was  wanted  and  lost  priceless  time  hesitating. 
McLean's  story  would  indicate  that  the  stage  employees  ran 
away  long  before  the  audience  knew  that  there  was  danger. 
Speaking  of  the  efforts  of  the  stage  fireman  to  put  out  the 
blaze  soon  after  it  started  in  the  grand  drapery,  McLean  said : 

"If  the  extinguisher  had  been  effective  he  could  not  have 
reached  the  fire  at  that  time,  though  the  part  he  did  reach  did 
not  seem  to  be  affected  at  all.  Then  there  was  a  commotion, 
everybody  was  running  back  and  forth,  and  I  yelled  as  loud 
as  I  could  to  send  the  curtain.  I  saw  the  men  did  not  under- 
stand the  signal;  they  were  signaling  from  the  first  entrance 
then  by  a  bell.  I  could  hear  the  bell  ringing  and  I  could  see 
the  fly  men,  as  they  called  them,  and  saw  they  didn't  under- 
stand. I  yelled  as  loud  as  I  could  and  they  did  not  seem  to 
understand  me  or  to  know  why  the  curtain  should  be  sent  at 
that  time,  as  it  was  not  the  regular  time  for  the  curtain.  t 

"Well,  the  fire  kept  making  headway  towards  the  back  of 
the  stage.  It  spread  rapidly  right  straight  back.  There  seemed 
to  have  been  a  draft  from  the  front  of  the  theater.  The  show 
people  started  to  go  out  fast,  coming  from  the  basement 
and  from  the  stage  and  leaving  the  stage  by  the  regular 
stage  entrance.  Somebody  hallooed,  'She  is  gone.  Everybody 
run  for  your  lives.'  I  went  towards  the  rear  door  then  and 
made  my  way  out  as  best  I  could. 

"There  had  never  been  any  fire  drill  on  the  stage  so  far  as 
I  know  and  I  never  heard  any  fire  instructions.  Many  were 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  299 

out  before  I  left  and  I  guess  all  the  stage  people  got  out  some 
way  or  another.    It  was  every  man  for  himself  then." 

i 

AN  EX-USHER'S  WORDS. 

Willard  Sayles,  382  North  avenue,  Chicago:  "I  was  for- 
merly an  usher  at  the  Iroquois  theater.  During  my  period  of 
employment  the  fire  escape  exits  at  the  alley  side  of  the  house 
were  always  kept  locked.  There  was  one  exception.  The  opening 
night  Mr.  Dusenberry,  the  head  usher,  had  me  open  the  inner 
set,  the  wooden  doors  that  concealed  the  big  outside  iron  ones. 
The  people  on  the  aisle  were  complaining  that  it  was  too  warm. 
He  gave  orders  to  the  director  and  myself  to  open  the  wooden 
inner  doors  to  the  auditorium.  Later  on  Mr.  Davis  came  up 
and  told  me  to  close  them  and  not  to  open  them  unless  I  got 
instructions  from  him.  That  was  the  only  time  I  got  insruc- 
tions  from  either  one  of  them.  We  had  not  got  instructions 
as  to  what  doors  we  were  to  attend  to  in  case  of  fire.  The  only 
time  we  got  instructions  was  the  Sunday  before  the  house 
opened;  Mr.  Dusenberry  called  us  all  down  there  and  told  us 
to  get  familiar  with  the  house.  There  was  no  fire  drill  or  any- 
thing of  that  kind." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

IRON  GATES,  DEATH'S  ALLY. 

That  two  iron  gates,  securely  padlocked,  across  stairways 
in  the  Randolph  street  entrance,  held  scores  of  women  and  chil- 
dren as  prisoners  of  death  at  the  Iroquois  theater  fire  horror, 
was  the  startling-  evidence  secured  on  Saturday,  Jan.  9,  ten 
days  after  the  holocaust  by  Fire  Department  Attorney  Monroe 
Fulkerson. 

In  a  statement  under  oath  George  M.  Dusenberry,  superin- 
tendent of  the  auditorium  of  the  playhouse,  admitted  that 
these  gates  had  remained  locked  against  the  frantic  crowds 
through  all  the  terrible  rush  to  escape.  Against  these,  bodies 
were  piled  high  in  death  of  those  who  might  have  gained  the 
open  air  had  they  not  been  penned  in  by  the  immovable  bars. 

Not  until  the  sworn  statement  had  been  secured  from  Dusen- 
berry were  the  investigators  brought  to  a  full  realization  of  the 
horrors  of  the  imprisoned  victims. 

These  deadly  iron  gates,  four  to  five  feet  high,  according  to 
Dusenberry's  testimony,  were  quietly  removed  after  the  fire. 
One  of  the  gates  was  at  the  landing  of  the  dress  circle.  The 
other  was  on  the  stairway  which  led  from  the  dress  circle  en- . 
trance  to  the  landing  above.  At  the  Randolph  street  entrance 
were  two  grand  staircases.  Passage  down  one  of  these  stair- 
cases was  shut  off  completely  by  the  iron  gates. 

According  to  Dusenberry,  the  gates  were  locked  with  a  pad- 
lock, requiring  a  key  to  open  them.  It  was  the  custom  to  open 
these  gates  after  the  intermission  at  the  close  of  the  second  act, 

300 


1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER,  301 

so  as  to  give  the  people -an  unobstructed  passageway  for  leav- 
ing the  house  at  the  close  of  the  play. 

The  exact  condition  made  by  the  locked  gates  and  the  ex- 
tent to  which  they  contributed  to  the  immense  loss  of  life  may 
be  realized  by  Dusenberry's  sworn  testimony  in  detail  on  this 
.  point. 

DUSENBERRY'S  TESTIMONY. 

It  was  as  follows: 

Q.  Do  you  recall  an  inspection  which  I  made  of  the  stair- 
way of  the  second  floor  of  that  theater  the  next  day  after  the 
fire?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  showed  you  two  iron  gates  that  folded  up  like  an 
accordion?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Please  state  whether  or  not  these  two  gates  were  locked 
at  the  time  of  the  fire.  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  State  where  the  lower  one  was  located.  A.  At  the 
landing  of  the  dress  circle. 

Q.  And  do  I  understand  that  one  side  of  it  was  solidly 
hinged  with  an  iron  rod  and  that  the  other  side  of  the  gate 
was  fastened  by  a  chain  locked  by  a  padlock?  A.  A  small 
lock. 

Q.  The  lock  required  a  key  to  open  it?  A.  Yes,  sir;  a  small 
key. 

Q.  How  high  was  this  gate?  A.  I  should  think  four  or 
five  feet. 

Q.  And  was  I  correct  in  saying  it  folded  up  like  an  accordion 
when  not  in  use?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Where  was  the  other  one  located  ?  A.  On  the  stairway 
which  led  from  the  dress  circle  entrance  up  to  the  landing 
above. 

Q.  And  was  it  secured  and  locked  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  other  gate?  A.  Yes,  sir. 


302  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

PURPOSE  OF  THE  TWO  GATES. 

Q.  Consider  the  first  one;  what  was  its  function?  A.  In 
order  that  we  could  have  system  in  handling  the  house. 

Q.  Yes ;  but  what  was  it  used  for  ?  A.  When  people  were 
going  upstairs  that  gate  simply  turned  them  for  the  balcony 
stairway. 

Q.  You  are  talking  about  the  lower  gate?    A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  So,  by  reason  of  this  gate,  when  the  people  started  out 
they  could  have  only  one  direction  in  which  to  leave,  instead 
of  two,  as  would  be  the  case  if  no  gate  were  there  ?  A.  Yes, 
sir. 

Q.  Let  us  consider  the  other  gate ;  what  was  it  for  ?  A.  To 
keep  the  people  from  going  down  into  the  dress  circle,  and  to 
keep  them  on  the  regular  stairway  for  the  balcony. 

Q.  I  believe  you  told  me  that  you  locked  these  gates  your- 
self just  before  this  matinee  began  ?  A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  That  is  correct,  is  it?    A.  Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  say  anything  to  Mr.  Noonan  or  Mr.  Pow- 
ers or  Mr.  Davis  as  to  the  importance  of  having  men  stationed 
there,  instead  of  a  gate,  sd  that  in  case  of  fire  this  would  not 
be  an  obstruction?  A.  No,  sir;  they  were  always  unlocked 
after  the  second  intermission. 

Q.  In  what  act  was  that  ?  A.  At  the  close  of  the  second 
act  they  would  be  always  unlocked.  They  were  exits. 

Q.  At  the  time  this  fire  began  and  people  started  out,  were 
they  still  locked  or  unlocked?  A.  They  were  locked. 

NEVER  ANY  FIRE  DRILLS. 

Dusenberry  admitted  that  at  the  time  of  the  fire's  outbreak 
he  was  descending  from  the  top  balcony  after  having  made  an 
inspection  of  the  entire  house.  This  was  his  custom,  to  see 
that  the  ushers  wrere  in  their  places.  He  said  that  100  persons 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

were  standing  in  the  passageway  back  of  the  last  row  of  seats 
on  the  first  floor  and  about  twenty-five  persons  occupied  stand- 
ing room  in  the  rear  of  the  first  balcony,  and  seventy-five  in 
the  rear  of  the  top  balcony. 

He  admitted  that  he  had  never  received  any  instructions 
from  any  of  the  owners  or  managers  of  the  theater  as  to  what 
to  do  in  case  of  fire.  He  said  that  he  had  been  told  in  a  general 
way  by  Will  J.  Davis  that  he  was  to  instruct  the  boys  in  their 
duties  as  ushers  and  make  them  familiar  with  the  house. 

There  had  never  been  any  fire  drills,  he  said.  He  did  not 
know,  he  said,  from  what  point  or  in  what  manner  the  large 
cyclindrical  ventilator  over  the  auditorium  was  worked.  It 
was  because  this  ventilator  was  open  and  those  above  the  stage 
closed  that  the  fire  was  drawn  into  the  front  of  the  house.  He 
said  the  nine  exits  on  the  north  side,  three  of  which  were  on 
each  floor,  were  all  bolted  at  the  time  of  the  fire ;  also  that  the 
nine  pairs  of  iron  shutters  outside  the  inner  doors  were  bolted 
at  the  time,  and  that  he  had  never  received  orders  from  any  one 
to  have  these  unbolted  while  the  audience  was  in  the  house. 

GATES  WERE  BATTERED. 

"I  found  these  gates  in  a  battered  condition  by  personal  in- 
spection, the  next  morning  after  the  fire/'  Fire  Department 
Attorney  Fulkerson  added.  "I  hunted  up  Mr.  Dusenberry 
and  took  him  to  the  place  and  examined  him  on  the  spot  as 
to  each  minute  detail.  The  examination  was  with  reference 
to  their  being  locked,  and  as  to  why  a  man  had  not  been  sta- 
tioned there,  in  glace  of  a  gate,  to  direct  the  peopje. 

"I  called  two  policemen  as  witnesses.  The  reason  I  have 
kept  this  matter  secret  until  now  was  the  fact  that  this  is  the 
first  day  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  Mr.  Dusen- 


304  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER, 

berry  under  oath  and  taking  his  statements  in  shorthand  to  be 
used  in  any  proceeding  that  may  follow. 
'  "The  importance  of  his  testimony  is  that  he  is  the  man  the 
theater  management  had  put  in  direct  control  of  the  audience 
and  auditorium,  and  the  facts  which  he  has  testified  to  speak 
for  themselves.  Let  the  public  draw  its  own  conclusions. 

"I  wish  to  say,  however,  with  reference  to  those  iron  gates 
that  they  are  no  part  of  the  building  or  the  stairway  as  turned 
over  by  the  builders  and  were  not  a  part  of  the  plans  of  the 
same,  but  a  feature  installed  by  the  management  after  the  stair- 
ways were  finished  and  accepted,  and  no  permit  was  obtained 
from  the  city  building  department  to  place  the  gates  there. 
They  proved  to  be  the  gates  of  death.  Until  this  time  they 
have  been  overlooked  in  the  general  investigation  and  silence 
has  been  maintained  by  the  fire  department  for  the  purpose  of 
clinching  the  evidence  concerning  them.  This  was  rendered 
necessary  through  the  fact  that  those  best  qualified  to  tell  of 
their  danger  gave  up  their  lives  in  acquiring  that  knowledge. 
They  were  gathered  from  behind  the  deadly  barriers  and  now 
lie  in  eternal  silence  beyond  the  re*ach  of  all  earthly  summonses 
and  the  jurisdiction  of  our  tribunals." 

Ernest  Stern,  3423  South  Park  avenue,  Chicago: 

"There  was  nothing  left  in  the  playhouse  but  standing  room 
when  my  sister  and  I  arrived,  so  we  bought  tickets  according 
that  privilege  and  took  up  a  position  in  the  middle  of  the  first 
balcony.  We  were  standing  there  when  we  saw  the  first  evi- 
dence of  fire  and  at  once  ran  out.  We  owe  our  lives  to  that 
fact. 

"It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  second  act  when  I  noticed 
the  blaze  on  the  upper  left-hand  corner  of  the  stage.  Those  on 
the  stage  seemed  to  be  in  semi-panic.  The  people  didn't  know 
what  to  do.  Then  there  seemed  to  be  somebody  giving  direc- 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  305 

tions  for  them  to  put  down  the  curtains  after  a  burning  piece 
of  scenery  or  something  fell  on  the  stage.  A  man  came  out 
and  gave  instructions  for  them  to  pull  down  the  curtain  and 
after  that  we  went  out  the  door,  downstairs  and  came  to  a  door 
on  the  left  hand  side  in  the  foyer,  facing  the  street,  and  in  the 
inner  vestibule.  There  was  a  man  there.  He  was  not  in  uni- 
form. He  was  trying  to  open  the  door,  which  was  locked. 
There  was  a  pair — two  doors — and  one  of  them  was  open  and 
a  great  crowd  was  going  out.  This  man  was  trying  to  unlock 
the  other  door  and  he  could  not  do  it.  I  broke  the  glass,  and 
that  wouldn't  do  either,  so  I  kicked  the  whole  door  out  and  we 
escaped." 

DIDN'T  BOTHER  ABOUT  LOCKED  DOORS. 

That  the  foyer  doors,  which  the  van  of  the  fleeing  audience 
found  closed,  were  locked  during  the  performance  was  the 
statement  of  Harry  Weisselbach  of  Chicago.  He  was  at  the 
ticket  office  in  the  outer  vestibule  off  Randolph  street,  some  time 
before  the  fire  and  saw  two  men  in  an  argument  regarding  the 
doors.  They  were  coming  out  of  the  theater. 

"That's  a  mean  trick,  to  lock  the  doors  so  people  can't  get 
out,"  said  one  of  the  men.  "They  have  locked  the  doors  again," 
he  continued,  looking  back  a{  the  door  man.  "I  wonder  if 
there  is  a  policeman  around  here." 

The  man's  companion  replied  that  he  wasn't  going  to  bother 
about  the  matter  and  the  two  left  the  theater.  Weisselbach 
went  around  to  the  Northwestern  University  school  and  was 
there  only  a  short  time  when  the  fire  in  the  theater  started.  His 
story  of  the  fire  from  that  viewpoint  was  similar  to  that  told 
by  Witness  Fred  H.  Rea. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


DANCED  IN  PRESENCE  OF  DEATH. 

Heroes  and  heroines — every  one  of  them — the  members  ot 
the  octette  told  the  coroner  how  they  sang  and  danced  to  re- 
assure the  vast  audience  of  women  and  children  while  death 
lowered  overhead  and  swept  through  the  scene  loft,  a  chariot 
of  flame.  Modestly  they  revealed  the  part  they  played  in  the 
catastrophe  while  billows  of  flame,  death's  red  banners,  men- 
aced their  lives. 

Madeline  Dupont,  145  Franklin  avenue,  New  York: 
"I  first  saw  just  a  little  bit  of  flame,  which  was  on  the  right 
hand  side' of  the  first  entrance  on  the  west,  the  first  drop  of  the 
curtain.  It  was  just  above  the  lamp  that  was  reflecting  on 
the  moonlight  girls.  It  was  a  calcium  light.  I  went  back  and 
got  in  my  place  with  the  pale  moonlight  girls  and  the  boys 
came  out  and  sang  their  lines.  Then  we  eight  girls  went  on  the 
stage — as  we  always  did — went  down  to  the  front  of  the  stage 
— and  going  down  stage  I  saw  the  flame  getting  larger.  Mr. 
Plunkett,  the  assistant  stage  manager,  was  in  the  entrance, 
ringing  for  the  asbestos  curtain  to  come  down.  He  rang  the 
bell  until  we  reached  the  front  of  the  stage,  where  we  went  on 
singing.  We  sang  one  verse  of  'The  Pale  Moonlight*  song, 
and  then  Mr.  Foy  came  out  and  spoke  to  the  audience.  What 
he  said  I  don't  know,  and  then  Miss  Williams  fainted.  She 
was  one  of  the  'pale  moonlight'  girls,  and  stood  alongside  of 
me.  She  was  taken  out,  and  then  Miss  Lawrence  and  myself 
were  the  last  girls  to  leave  the  stage.  I  went  downstairs  to 

306 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  307 

notify  the  girls  down  in  the  basement  in  the  dressing  rooms. 
I  called  to  them  that  there  was  a  fire,  and  advised  them  to  run 
for  their  lives.  Nobody  was  coming  up  then.  Then  I  went  out 
of  the  regular  stage  door  entrance." 

Ethel  Wynne,  New  York  City: 

"When  I  was  about  to  make  my  exit  I  noticed  a  very  small 
flame  to  the  right  of  the  stage  at  the  first  entrance.  It  was 
really  above  the  short  fellow — a  little  gentleman,  rather — who 
stands  on  the  bridge.  This  flame  was  above  his  head.  When 
he  noticed  it  he  put  both  hands  up  to  get  the  burning  material 
— just  grabbed  up  to  get  the  material  that  was  burning.  But 
the  flame  was  away  beyond  his  reach. 

"The  calcium  light  is  below  that,  and  it  appeared  to  me  as 
though  it  was  the  side  of  the  curtain  where  the  curtains  are 
drawn  up,  or  something.  The  flames  spread  very  rapidly.  I 
remember  seeing  Mr.  Plunkett  very  plainly  in  the  first  entrance 
and  hearing  bells  ringing  for  the  curtain  to  fall.  I  said  to 
Miss  Dupont  and  Miss  Williams,  'The  curtain  will  fall  in  the 
meantime,  the  bells  have  rung.'  We  went  to  the  back  to  make 
our  entrance  and  the  bell  still  continued  to  ring.  I  remember 
very  plainly  that  I  heard  some  one  yell,  'Drop  the  curtain.' 

"I  noticed  clearly  that  the  curtain  was  caught,  and  it  must 
have  been  on  our  left.  It  came  down  on  the  right  hand  side. 
The  flames  were  going  up  very  rapidly.  I  very  foolishly  lost 
my  reason  and  walked  back  to  the  back  steps,  where  I  had  made 
my  entrance.  From  there  I  unfortunately  had  to  watch  the 
awful  sights  that  we  know  of.  I  don't  know  to  this  hour  how 
I  got  out  of  the  burning  theater." 

Gertrude  Lawrence,  5  West  I25th  street,  New  York: 

"I  was  the  leader  of  the  octet,  and  I  was  on  the  platform 
going  to  meet  my  partner  when  I  first  saw  the  flame.  I  went 
on  working  as  usual,  down  to  the  front,  and  paid  no  more  at- 


308  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

tention  to  it  because  I  thought  it  would  soon  be  out.  It  was 
on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  stage,  above  the  stage.  I  noticed 
there  was  quite  an  excitement  on  the  other  side,  but  I  went 
on  working.  I  thought  if  there  was  an  awful  fire  there  would 
be  a  panic,  and  I  thought  by  working  I  would  quiet  the  people. 
Then  I  turned  and  saw  the  flames  and  went  up  the  steps,  there 
looking  back  and  seeing  the  audience  in  the  awful  panic.  Then 
I  went  out  the  usual  stage  door." 

Daisy  Beaute,  178  West  94th  street,  New  York: 
"I  was  standing  in  the  third  wing  ready  to  go  on,  and  I  saw 
a  flame  on  the  left  hand  side,  facing  the  audience,  from  the 
draperies  above  the  first  entrance  on  my  right  hand  side.  It 
was  in  the  draperies  clear  at  the  top  of  the  arch  in  the  stage 
opening.  We  kept  on  dancing,  but  Miss  Williams  fainted. 
I  ran  for  my  life  without  waiting  to  see  anything  more." 

Miss  Edith  Williams,  the  member  of  the  octet  who  fainted 
on  the  stage,  swooned  again  soon  after  she  took  the  witness 
stand.  Deputy  Coroner  Buckley  had  just  administered  the 
oath  and  asked  the  young  woman  to  be  seated,  when  she  fell 
backwards.  The  fall  was  broken  by  a  stenographer,  and  the 
woman  saved  from  serious  injury.  She  was  assisted  to  the 
witness  room  and  revived.  Another  witness  was  called. 

Miss  Anna  Brand,  another  member  of  the  octet,  testified 
to  the  facts  similar  to  those  related  by  Miss  Dupontjtand  Miss 
Wynne,  Miss  Lawrence,  Miss  Beaute,  Miss  Richards  and  Miss 
•  Romaine,  the  remaining  members  testifying  in  a  similar  strain. 
None  admitted  knowing  -wha  opened  the  rear  stage  door  lead- 
ing to  Dearborn  street,  the  door  through  which  came  the  cold 
blast  that  forced  the  fire  into  the  auditorium. 

"Jack"  Strause,  31  West  nth  street,  New  York: 
"The  octet  had  just  made  its  entrance,  walked  four  steps 
and  danced  eight,  bringing  the  members  to  the  center  of  the 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  309 

\ 

stage,  when  lj  discovered  the  fire  overhead  at  the  side  of  the 
proscenium  arch.  My  partner  in  the  scene,  a  young  woman, 
cried  out  that  she  was  fainting.  She  braced  up,  however,  did 
a  few  more  steps  and  collapsed.  As  I  stooped  to  pick  her  up  I 
saw  the  curtain  fall  possibly  six  or  seven  feet.  From  that 
time  on  I  observed  nothing  more  of  the  progress  of  the  fire, 
being  engrossed  in  an  effort  to  carry  out  the  unconscious  young 
woman.  Upon  reaching  the  big  scene  door  at  the  north  of  the 
stage,  a  strong  blast  of  air  blew  us  both  into  the  alley.  The 
rush  of  air  was  occasioned  by  the  falling  of  a  partition  behind 
me,  I  think.  I  carried  the  girl  into  a  neighboring  restaurant, 
where  she  revived." 

Samuel  Bell  (Beverly  Mars)  : 

"We  saw  the  fire  start  about  the  time  we  made  our  entrance, 
but  continued  with  our  'turn/  reaching  the  center  of  the  stage. 
The  fire  was  spreading  and  large  sparks  and  fragments  of  burn- 
ing material  were  falling,  but  we  kept  on  until  Miss  Williams 
fainted.  I  saw  the  people  in  front  commence  to  get  excited 
and  I  put  up  my  hands  and  told  the  people  to  keep  as  quiet 
and  move  out  as  easily  as  they  could  and  not  to  get  excited. 
I  looked  up  again  and  I  saw  the  drop  curtain  coming  down. 
I  should  call  it  the  asbestos  curtain.  It  came  down,  as  near  as 
I  could  judge,  about  six  or  eight  feet.  Then  I  turned  to  look 
for  my  partner  and  she  had  gone.  I  looked  on  the  stage  to  see 
her  and  I  could  not  find  her.  She  had  gone  off  the  stage.  I 
merely  went  off  the  stage,  out  of  the  same  side  I  had  entered —  ( 
I  could  not  say  exactly  which  entrance — and  then  out  of  the 
stage  door,  which  was  wide  open." 

Victor  Lozard,  235  Bower  street,  Jersey  City: 

"I  was  coming  out  with  the  boys,  eight  of  us,  at  the  right 
side.  We  came  up  and  met  our  partners  and  we  got  down  as 
far  front  as  the  footlights,  when  Miss  Williams  fainted,  which 


310  I ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

v 

attracted  my  attention  to  some  flames  up  at  the  first  entrance 
on  the  right  side.  I  then  immediately  turned  around  and 
helped  pick  Miss  Williams  up,  and  by  that  time  my  partner  had 
left  me,  and  I  left  the  stage  on  the  right  side.  I  went  up  and 
was  going  to  leave  by  the  stage  door,  but  people  were  going 
out  there,  and  so  I  went  over  to  the  back  drop,  to  the  right 
of  the  stage,  and  there,  about  the  middle  of  the  stage,  I  was 
blown  down  or  knocked  down,  I  don't  know  what  happened  to 
me,  and  the  next  I  knew  of  myself  I  was  out  in  the  alley.  I 
don't  know  how  I  got  there." 

John  J.  Russell,  Boston,  Mass. : 

"I  had  taken  the  first  twelve  steps  of  the  dance  when  I  first 
noticed  the  fire.  It  was  in  the  first  entrance,  prompt  side,  about 
fifteen  feet  above  the  stage.  The  flame  then  was  about  five 
inches  in  length. 

"I  noticed  that  for  about  a  second.  I  continued  on  with  the 
rest  of  the  business,  and  me  and  my  partner,  as  I  always  had 
done  in  that  number,  went  down  to  the  footlights.  When  we 
got  there  we  continued  in  the  business  for  about  three  or  four 
seconds  after  getting  down.  Then  Miss  Williams  fainted. 
The  flames  were  falling  to  the  stage,  large  pieces  of  burning 
material,  and  seemed  to  create  quite  a  little  disturbance  among 
the  people  in  the  audience.  I  spoke  to  a  number  and  tried  to 
quiet  them. 

"I  told  them  to  be  seated,  that  everything  would  be  all  right, 
and  to  quiet  down,  and  quite  a  number  did.  After  Miss  Wil- 
liams fainted  it  attracted  my  attention,  of  course,  to  what  was 
going  on  on  the  stage.  I  saw  one  of  the  moonlight  boys  pick 
Miss  Williams  up  in  his  arms  and  go  toward  the  stage  en- 
trance, other  members  of  the  octet  following,  except  myself. 
I  staid  until  they  were  out  of  sight.  I  left  the  stage  by  the  sec- 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  311 

oncl  entrance  on  the  prompt  side.  I  went  down  stairs  by  the 
stairway  beside  the  stage  elevator. 

"I  came  back  on  the  stage  again,  made  one  more  trip  down 
stairs,  and  then  I  came  to  the  stage  once  more.  I  went  partly 
up  stage,  toward  the  stage  entrance,  that  was  all  in  flames.  I 
looked  to  the  other  side  of  the  stage  and  that  was  all  in  flames. 
I  went  down  to  the  footlights,  crossing  again  across  the  stage, 
and  jumped  over  the  footlights  into  the  auditorium  and  made 
my  way  out  to  the  first  exit  on  my  left,  looking  into  the  audi- 
torium from  the  stage,  into  the  alley.  The  panic  was  on  at 
that  time  and  it  was  a  dreadful  sight." 

The  statements  of  the  remaining  members  were  almost 
identical  with  those  quoted. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

JOIN  TO  AVENGE  SLAUGHTER  OF  INNOCENTS. 

Ten  days  after  the  fire  horror,  while  blood  curdling  dis- 
closures were  coming  to  light  revealing  the  fate  of  the  penned- 
in  fire  victims  in  a  new  and  more  ghastly  aspect,  and  while 
school  officials  and  pupils  gathered  to  express  grief  for  the 
39  teachers  and  102  pupils  who  were  gathered  in  the  grim  har- 
vest, an  inspired  movement  sprang  from  the  aftermath  of  woe. 
It  was  a  cry  for  justice. 

In  an  upper  chamber  in  a  towering  sky-scraper  in  the  heart 
of  teeming,  bustling  Chicago,  scores  of  sad  visaged  men  and 
women  assembled  to  lay  aside  their  burden  of  woe  and  enter 
upon  the  prosecution  of  those  whose  avarice,  neglect  or  incom- 
petency  had  snuffed  out  all  happiness  and  sunshine  from  their 
lives.  A  preliminary  organization  of  relatives  of  victims  of 
the  Iroquois  theater  fire  was  effected  in  consequence  on  Satur- 
day, January  9,  for  that  purpose,  at  a  meeting  held  in  the  of- 
fices of  the  Western  Society  of  Engineers,  in  the  Monadnock 
building. 

The  meeting  was  held  in  response  to  a  call  sent  out  by  Arthur 
E.  Hull,  asking  that  concerted  action  be  taken  by  the  relatives 
and  survivors  to  cause  the  speedy  prosecution  and  punishment 
of  any  who  were  criminally  responsible  for  the  disaster  and  to 
learn  those  financially  liable  for  claims.  Mr.  Hull  lost  his  wife 
and  three  children  in  the  catastrophe. 

Long  before  3  o'clock,  the  time  set  for  the  meeting,  many 
fathers,  mothers,  brothers,  sisters  and  near  relatives  of  vic- 

312 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  313 

tims  began  to  gather.  Nearly  every  seat  was  taken  when  the 
meeting  was  called  to  order.  There  were  perhaps  125  people 
present,  among  whom  over  a  hundred  lost  near  and  dear  rela- 
tives in  the  fire. 

Attorney  W.  J.  Lacey  announced  the  object  of  the  gathering 
by  reading  the  call  and  suggested  the  formation  of  a  temporary 
organization.  Mr.  Hull  was  elected  chairman  and  Edward  T. 
Noble  secretary. 

MR.  HULL'S  STATEMENT. 

Mr.  Hull  spoke  briefly  of  his  reason  foFcalling  the  meeting. 

"The  last  time  I  saw  my  wife  and  little  ones,"  he  said,  "was 
on  the  morning  of  the  fire.  I  did  not  iviiow  until  late  in  the 
evening  that  they  had  perished  in  the  flames.  There  are  many 
others  who  have  suffered  as  deeply  as  I  have,  on  account  of  this 
horror.  There  are  some  families/perhaps,  whose  means  of  sup- 
port have  been  wrested  from  them.  There  is  suffering  and  sor- 
row throughout  this  great  city.  It  is  my  desire  that  we  work 
together  in  the  effort  to  find  out  who  the  men  are  that  are  crim- 
inally and  financially  responsible  for  our  terrible  loss  and  bring 
them  before  the  bar  of  justice. 

"It  was  the  duty  of  the  contractors  who  built  the  Iroquois 
theater  to  see  that  the  building  was  complete  in  every  detail  be- 
fore turning  it  over  to  the  management.  This,  in  my  opinion, 
establishes  their  responsibility.  The  architect  may  also  be  held 
responsible. 

"As  to  the  building  inspector,  I  think  he  should  be  prosecuted 
to  the  fullest  extent  of  the  law.  It  was  his  failure  to  hold  the 
management  to  a  strict  adherence  to  the  law  that  .brought  about 
the  destruction  of  nearly  600  precious  lives.  We  have  recourse 
to  the  courts  of  justice.  Let  us  stand  together  and  see  that 
punishment  is  meted  out  to  the  guilty." 


3I4  IROQCJOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

ATTORNEY  T.  D.  KNIGHT  SPEAKS. 

Chairman  Hull  then  called  for  an  expression  from  his  attor- 
ney, Thomas  D.  Knight,  who  spoke  as  follows : 

"Mr.  Hull's  object  in  calling  this  meeting  is  to  place  the 
responsibility  where  it  belongs,  not  upon  the  scene  shifter  and 
the  stage  hand,  but  upon  men  high  in  authority — the  manage- 
ment and  owners  of  the  theater.  They  are  the  men  he  regards 
as  financially  and  criminally  liable  for  the  disaster  that  de- 
stroyed his  family  and  families  of  many  of  those  present  here 
today.  It  was  Mr.  Hull  who  caused  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Davis 
and  Mr.  Powers  of  the  theater  management,  and  Building 
Commissioner  Williams.  As  Mr.  Hull  is  so  deeply  affected 
by  his  loss  he  has  requcoted  me  to  state  that  it  is  his  desire  that 
a  permanent  organization  be  effected. 

"I  believe  an  executive  committee  should  be  appointed  to  as- 
certain just  what  is  best  to  be  done  and  do  it.  I  would  sug- 
gest also  the  appointment  of  subcommittees  on  civil  authority, 
permanent  organization  and  finance.  This  last  committee  would 
be  an  important  adjunct  of  this  organization.  It  should  be 
the  aim  of  the  finance  committee  to  learn  how  many  families 
are  destitute  as  a  result  of  the  loss  of  their  means  of  support 
in  the  fire  and  see  that  they  are  provided  for.  There  are  plenty 
of  men  of  wealth  in  the  city  today  who  would  gladly  contribute 
to  such  a  worthy  cause. 

CORONER'S  WORK  THOROUGH. 

"As  to  the  question  of  who  are  financially  responsible  the 
coroner's  investigation  has  been  thorough,  careful  and  fair. 
The  coroner's  questioning  has  been  competent  and  complete  in 
every  respect.  It  is  probable  that  he  will  be  able  to  determine 
just  which  men  are  to  blame.  Enough  has  been  developed  al- 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  315 

ready  to  prove  that  there  was  gross  and  culpable  negligence  on, 
the  part  of  the  proprietors  of  that  theater. 

"As  far  as  Klaw  &  Erlanger  are  concerned  we  have  evi-\ 
dence  connecting  them  already.  The  blaze  that  ignited  the 
draperies  and  scenery  was  proved  to  have  come  from  the  'spot' 
light,  which  was  operated  by  an  employee  of  the  'Mr.  Blue- 
beard' company,  which  is  owned  by  these  men,  who  control  the 
theatrical  trust.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  Mayor  Harrison  and 
other  city  officials  by  their  negligence  contributed  to  the  loss, 
then  they  can  also  be  held  responsible.  There  is  no  doubt  but 
that  those  who  are  liable  can  be  attacked  in  the  civil  courts." 

REMARKS  BY  ELIZABETH  HALEY. 

A  general  discussion  followed,  during  which  Miss  Elizabeth 
Haley,  residing  at  419  Sixtieth  place,  arose  and  made  some 
revelations  in  regard  to  the  lack  of  fire  protection  in  various 
public  schools.  She  said : 

"I  presume  the  gentleman  who  has  just  spoken  is  an  attorney 
and  I  would  like  to  ask  him  if  the  men  who  allowed  such  crimi- 
nal conditions  to  exist — the  mayor,  aldermen  and  city  trustees 
— if  they  could  not  be  held  liable,  both  civilly  and  criminally  ? 
I  am  a  school  teacher,  and  I  would  like  to  know  if  men  who 
time  after  time  have  competely  ignored  reports  about  the  abso- 
lute absence  of  fire  protection  in  school  buildings  are  not  liable  ? 

"To  my  personal  knowledge  reports  have  been  made  month 
after  month  to  them,  and  nothing  was  ever  heard  of  them.  I 
know  of  schools  where  there  is  no  fire  hose,  no  fire  extinguish- 
ers, no  fire  apparatus  of  any  kind,  no  fire  alarms,  no  telephones, 
no  fire  escapes — not  a  thing  that  would  enable  the  hundreds  of 
children  to  save  their  lives  in  the  event  of  a  fire.  And  these 
buildings  are  locked  at  9  o'clock,  with  only  one  exit  left  open. 
Are  not  the  mayor,  the  aldermen,  and  the  trustees  directly  re- 


316 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


sponsible  for  this  state  of  things,  and  are  they  not  the  men  who 
should  be  prosecuted  along  with  the  proprietors  of  that  thea- 
ter? 

"On  November  2  last,  the  newspapers  reported  that  a  com- 
plaint had  been  made  before  the  city  council  that  the  theaters 
were  violating  the  laws.  That  report  went  to  a  subcommittee 
and  has  never  been  heard  of  since ;  and  a  day  or  two  later  Mayor 
Harrison  came  out  with  a  statement  in  which  he  defied  criticism 
and  declared  that  there  was  no  truth  in  the  complaints.  The 
whole  thing  strikes  me  as  a  splendid  lesson  in  civics— that  we 
cannot  shirk  our  duty,  even  as  high  officials." 

The  following  committee,  the  majority  residents  of  Chicago, 
was  named  to  act,  pending  further  action :  J.  L.  McKenna,  758 
South  Kedzie  avenue;  Henry  M.  Shabad,  4041  Indiana 
avenue;  J.  J.  Reynolds,  421  East  Forty-fifth  street;  E.  S.  Fra- 
zier,  Aurora,  111 ;  Morris  Schaffner,  578  East  Forty-fifth  street. 

All  of  these  men  lost  members  of  their  families  in  the  fire, 
Mr.  McKenna  losing  his  whole  family. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

AWFUL  PROPHECY  FULFILLED. 

More  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  the  prophecy  was 
made  by  the  Chicago  Times  that  a  terrible  calamity  was  in 
store  for  the  public  on  account  of  the  lax  provision  made  for 
escape  from  burning  theaters.  The  prophecy  was  put  forth 
in  the  guise  of  a  pretended  report  of  such  a  horror  in  the  issue 
of  that  publication  for  February  13,  1875,  and  was  as  follows: 

"Scores  of  houses  are  saddened  this  beautiful  winter  morn- 
ing by  the  fate  which  overtook  so  many  unsuspecting  people 
in  Chicago  last  night.  The  hearts  of  thousands  will  be  stirred 
to  their  depths  with  sympathy  for  the  unfortunates.  It  was  a 
catastrophe  awful  in  its  results,  yet  grand  in  its  horror. 
Nothing  has  equaled  it  for  years;  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  its 
counterpart  will  never  be  known. 

"There  are  smoking  ruins  down  in  the  heart  of  the  city- 
ruins  of  one  of  the  finest  theaters  in  Chicago,  which  fell  a 
prey  to  the  devouring  element  last  night.  There  are  mourning 
households  and  rows  of  dead  bodies  at  the  morgue.  There  will 
be  anxious  inquiries  on  the  lips  of  many  persons  with  whom 
one  will  meet  manifesting  an  eagerness  to  know  whether 
friends  were  swallowed  up  in  the  flames  or  made  good  their 
escape. 

"While  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  catastrophe  was  entirely 
unexpected,  yet  it  came  so  suddenly  and  so  little  had  been 
done  to  obviate  it,  that  its  results  are  fearful  to  contemplate. 
For  months  the  frequenters  of  the  various  places  of  amuse- 
ment in  Chicago  had  often  questioned  themselves  whether 

117 


318  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

there  would  not  come  the  day  when  in  some  of  these  buildings 
grisly  death  would  stalk  forth,  like  a  thief  in  the  night,  and 
lay  his  cold  hands  upon  the  unsuspecting  throng;  at  last  the 
terrible  moment  and  the  horrible  reality  dawned. 

"With  all  her  experience  in  conflagrations  and  attendant 
horrors,  Chicago  has  nothing  to  compare  with  this  catastrophe. 
Even  the  fire  of  1871,  which  swept  over  a  vast  extent  of  coun- 
try and  reduced  proud  and  formidable  looking  buildings  and 
scattered  their  strength  to  the  winds,  lacked  the  comparative 
loss  of  life  which  this  one  disaster  has  entailed.  Property  may 
be  dissipated,  but  it  can  be  recovered  once  more. 

"Death  robs  us  forever  of  our  dear  ones,  and  leaves  a  void 
which  time  can  never  fully  fill. 

MOURNING  AND  INDIGNATION. 

"As  we  tread  today  upon  the  very  heels  of  this  latest  sad 
event  and  take  a  comprehensive  view  of  its  details  and  results, 
no  one,  not  even  though  he  have  no  personal  interest  in  the 
loss  entailed,  can  help  joining  in  the  expression  of  mourning 
i  which  will  go  up,  and  at  the  same  time  give  vent  to  the  already 
too  long-suppressed  feelings  of  indignation,  which  have  from 
time  to  time  arisen  when  thinking  of  the  flimsy  manner  in 
which  theaters  are  built,  their  lack  of  protection  against  fire 
and  the  inadequate  means  afforded  inmates  to  escape  there- 
from in  the  event  of  an  undue  excitement  that  should  spread 
a  panic,  ere  the  breaking  out  of  a  fire. 

"The  sympathy  for  the  dead  will  be  equally  balanced  by 
vigorous  denunciation  of  the  criminality  of  everybody  who, 
in  an  official  or  proprietary  capacity,  is  interested  therein. 

NOTHING  ELSE  SO  HORRIBLE. 

"In  the  history  of  the  country  there  are  few  events  that  can 
match  this  one.  The  burning  of  the  Richmond  theater,  the 


IROOUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  319 

falling  of  the  Pemberton  mill,  the  burning  of  the  cotton  mill 
at  Fall  River,  the  breaking  loose  of  the  Haydenville  mill  pond, 
with  now  and  then  of  late  years  the  engulfing  of  some  steamer 
on  inland  lakes  or  the  ocean,  have  for  the  time  cast  a  great  pall 
of  mourning  over  the  land,  but  they  only  stand  in  the  same 
category  with  this  last  disaster,  and  can  hardly  rival  it  in 
swiftness  of  culmination  or  suddenness  of  origin. 

"For  the  time  being  this  will  furnish  the  chief  topic  for  con- 
versation, and  if  the  Times  mistakes  not,  it  will  as  well  arousa 
the  public  to  a  complete  realization  of  the  unsafeness  of 
theaters  in  general,  and  have  the  beneficial  effect  even  in  its 
tragic  nature  of  moving  the  people  to  insist  upon  the  adoption 
of  a  certain  amount  of  safeguards  against  a  like  event  in  the 
future.  The  time  to  move  in  this  matter  is  at  this  critical 
juncture,  even  while  the  charred  remains  of  the 

>  UNFORTUNATE  VICTIMS 

are  lying  stark  upon  their  biers  and  friends  are  stabbed  with 
the  grief  of  the  untimely  taking  off  of  their  friends. 

"In  the  excitement  of  this  hour  it  is  no  time  to  deal  in  sen- 
timental reflections.  The  scenes  of  the  past  night  are  too  fresh 
to  warrant  lengthy  dwelling  upon  the  morale  of  the  occur- 
rence. It  is  sufficient  that  it  is  distinctly  understood  that  the 
catastrophe  was  more  the  result  of  insufficient  means  of  egress 
from  the  theater  than  was  the  primary  cause  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  fire,  although  the  latter,  aided  by  the  first  and 
helped  on  by  the  panic  stricken  people,  who  from  the  outset 
appreciated  the  terrible  position  in  which  they  were  placed, 
augmented  to  a  large,  degree  the  number  of  deaths. 

"Chicago  theaters  as  a  general  thing  are  tinder  boxes  into 
which  humanity  are  packed  by  avaricious  managers  without 
any  regard  to  their  safety  or  thought  of  the  imminent  risk 


320  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

which  is  nightly  impending.  Evidently  their  only  desire  is  to 
fill  the  house,  gather  in  as  much  money  as  possible,  while  they 
take  no  heed  to  the  dangers  which  surround  their  patrons  on 
every  hand. 

"The  lesson  had  to  be  taught  some  time,  it  was  inevitable; 
it  had  to  be  located  at  some  one  of  the  places  of  amusement, 
although  all  of  them  were — and  those  remaining  are  still — 
liable  to  share  the  same  fate  at  any  moment.  If  the  experi- 
ence of  one  should  teach  the  others  a  little  wisdom,  the  exist- 
ing evil  may  perhaps  be  remedied,  although  it  shall  have  been 
at  the  sacrifice  of  human  life. 

FIRE!    FIRE! 

"The  gallery  was  overflowing  and  the  gate  that  opened  to 
the  stairway  which  led  to  the  floor  below,  as  usual,  was  locked, 
so  that  those  who  bought  cheap  tickets  could  not  make  their 
way  to  higher-priced  sections  on  the  lower  floor.  In  the  upper- 
most gallery — where  the  'gods'  are  supposed  to  assemble,  and 
from  which  comes  much  of  the  inspiration  which  upholds 
the  ambitious  actor  and  transports  the  ranting  comedian  and 
raging  tragedian  to  the  seventh  heaven  of  bliss — in  this  gallery 
there  was  a  motley  crowd. 

"They  were  there  in  large  numbers,  because  the  play 
had  something  that  savored  of  blood ;  there  was  a  broadsword 
combat  and  a  murder  scene.  For  reasons  the  very  antitheses 
of  these  were  the  people  downstairs  drawn  thither — there  were 
love  scenes  and  heart-burnings  and  statuesque  posings,  and 
artistic  excellencies  of  varied  kinds.  It  was  a  play  that  touched 
the  feelings  of  humanity,  the  vulgar  as  well  as  the  refined. 

BEFORE  THE  DISASTER. 

"The  auditorium  was  ablaze  with  light,  the  audience  were  lit 
up  with  gaiety.  Handsome  women,  richly  clad,  ogled  one 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  321 

another  and  cast  coquettish  glances  at  dashing  gentlemen. 
Fond  mothers,  chaperoning  blooming  daughters,  chatted 
pleasantly,  while  indulgent  fathers,  although  seeking  relief 
from  the  cares  of  the  day  in  the  charming  play,  found  neigh- 
bors near  at  hand  with  whom  to  discuss  sordid  business  or 
perplexing  politics. 

THE  HOLOCAUST. 

"As  has  been  stated,  the  house  was  filled  with  spectators. 
When  the  premonition  of  the  impending  disaster  had  been 
given  out,  and  after  the  first  great  thrill  of  horror  had,  for 
the  instant,  frozen  the  blood  of  every  spectator  and  caused  an 
involuntary  check  to  every  heart,  there  came  quickly  the  mani- 
festation of  a  determination  to  'do  or  die/  to  escape  from  the 
angry  flames  if  possible.  And  with  this  determination  came 
the  positive  assurance  of  the  growing  calamity,  through  the 
person  of  one  of  the  actors,  who  but  a  short  time  previous  had 
been  playing  the  buffoon,  setting  staid  people  agape  with 
amusement  and  turning  dull  care  into  festivity.  Hastily 
drawing  the  foot  of  the  curtain  back  from  the  proscenium 
pillars,  he  thrust  his  blanched  countenance  into  view  and 
screamed  with  terrified  voice: 

"  'Hurry  to  the  door  for  your  lives ;  the  stage  is  afire !' 

THE  STAMPEDE  BEGINS. 

"It  hardly  needed  these  words  of  warning  to  perfect  the  de- 
moralization which  had  seized  upon  the  terrified  crowd.  The 
stampede  had  already  commenced ;  the  work  of  death  had  been 
inaugurated. 

"Those  who  escaped,  and  with  whom  the  Times  reporter 
had  the  good  fortune  to  talk,  on  last  evening,  say  that  the  de- 
tail of  the  horrors  of  that  scene  would  defy  description.  One 


322  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

or  two  of  these  informants  were  so  far  down  in  the  dress 
circle  that  they  saw  the  whole  of  the  catastrophe  and  meas- 
ured its  horrible  magnitude  as  best  they  could  under  the  ex- 
citement that  prevailed.  How  they  escaped  is  more  than  they 
could  tell,  but  they  found  themselves  borne  along,  lifted  and 
pushed  forward  till  the  door  was  reached,  and  the  outside  and 
safety  gained.  They  describe  the  scene  inside  the  theater  as 

ONE  OF  STUPENDOUS  HORRORS. 

"The  affrighted  audience,  rising  from  their  seats,  began 
simultaneously  to  attempt  to  reach  the  means  of  egress.  Timid 
females  raised  their  hands  to  heaven,  shrieked  wild,  despairing 
cries  and  fell  to  be  trampled  into  eternity  by  the  heels  of  the 
wild  rushing  throng.  Mothers  pleaded  piteously  in  the  tumult 
and  the  roar  that  their  darling  daughters  might  be  spared,  while 
they  themselves  were  resigned  to  the  fate  which  was  inevitable. 
Stout  men  with  muscles  of  iron  and  cheeks  blanched  with 
terror  clasped  wives  and  sweethearts  to  their  breasts  and 

CURSED  AND  BLASPHEMED, 

and  piteously  prayed — the  one  that  their  progress  was  im- 
peded, the  other  to  those  who,  like  them,  prayed  for  a  safe 
deliverance,  but  who  were  unable  to  afford  the  slightest  assist- 
ance. 

"Meanwhile  the  flames  had  eaten  their  way  to  the  front, 
and  with  one  fell  swoop  licked  up  the  combustible  drop  curtain, 
spread  themselves  across  the  proscenium  and  were  working  up 
towards  the  ceiling.  Reaching  this  point  the  destroying  ele- 
ment seemed  to  pause  a  moment  as~though  pitying  the  position 
of  the  puny  individuals  who  were  fleeing  its  approach,  and  then 
remorselessly  swept  down  in  forked  fury  and  pierced  venom. 
The  terror-stricken  crowd  felt  the  hot  breath  of  the  monster 
and  surged  and  swayed  and  tried  to  escape  its  fury. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  323, 

DEAD  BODIES  FOUND. 

"The  corpses  recovered  were,  as  has  been  before  stated,  taken 
;o  the  street,  removed  two  blocks  away  from  the  scene  of  the 
disaster,  and,  for  the  time  being,  laid  out  upon  the  pavement, 
awaiting  the  recognition  of  friends.  Fathers  and  mothers,  who 
in  the  tumult  of  the  stampede  had  become  separated  from 
children;  husbands  who,  despite  their  efforts,  had  felt  them- 
selves torn  away  from  wives ;  friends  who  had  been 

SUDDENLY  AND  FOREVER  PARTED 

from  friends;  young  men,  who,  while  they  had  no  friends  to 
lose  in  the  building,  yet  felt  themselves  bereft  by  reason  of  the 
common  sympathy  of  the  human  heart;  all  these  had,  during 
the  time  preceding  the  recovery  of  the  bodies,  rilled  the  streets 
and  poured  out  their  inconsolable  grief  in  loudest  tones.  The 
Times  reporter  to  whose  lot  fell  the  recording  of  the  scenes 
depicted  under  this  head  hopes  that  it  may  never  again  be  his 
to  witness  a  repetition  of  the  scene.  The  anguish,  the  frenzy, 
the  loud  wailings,  the  heart-broken  demonstrations  were,  in- 
deed, overpowering  and  calculated  to  make  an  impression  upon 
even  the  most  stony  heart  that  will  last  as  long  as  reason  holds 
its  sway. 

THE  FRENZY  OF  FRIENDS. 

"The  silent  bearers  of  these  bodies,  as  they  came  and  went, 
could  not  but  be  moved  to  tears  at  the  reception  which  their 
burdens  met.  Here  a  charming  girl,  cut  off  in  the  flower  of  her 
youth  and  at  the  height  of  her  pleasure;  there  a  promising 
lad,  full  of  hope  but  an  hour  before.  Again,  the  silvered  head 
of  a  loved  mother,  and  soon  the  sturdy  frame  of  one  who  had 
passed  the  heydey  of  youth  and  was  beginning  to  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  his  youthful  labors.  There  were  people  well  known, 
whose  sudden  taking  away  will  shock  many  a  friend  this 


324  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

morning;  and  there  were  others,  too,  male  and  female,  who, 
lacking  friends  in  life,  found  no  mourners  save  the  full  heart 
of  a  sympathetic  public  to  regret  their  departure. 

TOO  HORRIBLE  TO  DWELL  UPON. 

"But  these  scenes  are  too  painful  to  be  dwelt  upon.  One 
by  one  the  dead  were  removed,  some  to  near  hotels,  to  await  the 
coming  dawn,  when  they  might  be  taken  to  their  late  homes, 
and  others  being  sent  to  the  morgue  by  the  police.  At  2 
o'clock  officers  were  still  searching,  and  the  populace  who  had 
been  drawn  together  by  the  awful  catastrophe  had  dispersed 
in  the  main,  although  a  few  still  lingered  about  the  ruins, 
anxious  to  offer  assistance  where  it  might  most  be  needed, 
while  two  streams  of  water  continued  to  be  poured  into  the 
building  that  every  spark  might  be  extinguished. 

HOW  THEATERS  SHOULD  BE  BUILT. 
"Granting  that  the  conflagration  detailed  never  happened, 
it  is  something  liable  to  occur  at  any  time  in  this  city.  News- 
paper accounts  more  sensational  in  headlines  and  more  shock- 
ing in  narrative  are  to  be  expected  almost  any  morning.  The 
above  is  but  a  suggestion  of  what  may  at  any  time  become  a 
reality.  Theaters  are  so  built  and  so  crammed  with  inflam- 
mable materials  that  a  fire  once  started  in  them  would  in  an 
incredibly  short  period  gain  such  headway  that  nothing  under 
heaven  could  check  its  mad  and  devouring  career.  Further- 
more, the  means  of  exit  and  all  other  avenues  of  escape 
are  so  limited  that  a  panic  once  inaugurated  in  a  crowded 
house  would  bring  destruction  upon  the  heads  of  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  audience.  Have  theater-goers  in  Chicago  ever 
thought  of  this,  as,  crowded  into  a  seat,  with  means  of  hasty 
exit  cut  off,  they  have  sat  and  looked  around  them  upon  the 
hundreds  of  others  similarly  situated? 


CHAPTER  XXV. 
LIST  OF  THE  DEAD. 

A. 

ADAMEK,  JOHN,  MRS.,  40  years  old,  Bartlett,  111. 

ALEXANDER,  LULU  B.,  36  years  old,  3473  Washington 
boulevard;  identified  by  husband,  W.  G.  Alexander. 

ALLEN,  MRS.  MARY  S.,  27  years  old,  5546  Drexel  boule- 
vard. 

ANDERSON,  RAGNE,  39  years  old,  scrubwoman,  Iroquois  ; 
229  Grand  avenue. 

ANDREWS,  HARRIET,  20  years  old,  West  Superior,  Wis. 

ALEXANDER,  BOYER,  8  years  old,  475  Washington 
boulevard;  body  identified  by  his  father,  Dr.  W.  A.  Alex- 
ander. 

ADAMS,  MRS.  JOHN,  lola,  111.,  identified  by  R.  H.  Os- 
trander. 

ALDRIDGE,  LUELLA  M'DONALD,  792  West  Monroe 
street. 

ALFSON,  ALFRED,  24  Keith  street;  identified  by  father. 

\NDERSON,  ANNIE,  29  years  old,  2141  Jackson  boule- 
vard. 

'ANNEN,  MARGARET,  299  Webster  avenue;  identified  by 
Charles  Annen. 

B. 

BARRY,  WILMA,  17  years  old,  4330  Greenwood  avenue, 
stepdaughter  of  E.  P.  Berry,  the  insurance  man,  was  with 
vMrs.  Barry,  who  escaped. 


326  1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

BARRY,  MISS  MAGGIE,  26  years  old,  236  Lincoln  ave- 
nue. 

BARNHEISEL,  CHARLES  H.,  3622  Michigan  avenue;  un- 
known to  family  that  he  had  attended  theater,  and  published 
list  of  dead  containing  name  conveyed  the  first  information 
to  family;  body  identified  by  relatives. 

BISSINGER,  WALTER,  15  years  old,  4934  Forrestvilk 
avenue,  son  of  Benjamin  Bissinger,  real  estate  man ;  attend- 
ed Howe  Military  academy  at  Lima,  Ind.;  was  with  sis- 
ter, Tessie,  20  years,  and  cousin,  Jack  Pottlitzer,  of  Lafay 
ette,  Ind.,  who  was  killed;  the  sister  escaped. 

BURNSIDE,  MRS.  ESTHER,  437  West  Sixty-fourtfc 
street;  body  identified  by  her  son,  C.  W.  Burnside,  and  the 
family  physician,  Dr.  Schultz. 

BYRNE,  CONSILA,  16  years  old,  616  West  Fifteenth  street 
Identified  by  sister. 

BICKFORD,  GLENN,  16  years  old,  son  of  C,  M.  Bickford 
947  Farwell  avenue,  Rogers  Park. 

BICKFORD,  HELEN,  14  years  old,  daughter  of  C.  M 
Bickford. 

BREWSTER,  MARY  JULIA,  116  Thirty-first  street 
daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  L.  H.  Brewster, 

BRENNAN,  PAUL,  608  West  Fulton  street;  identified  tf> 
Rolston's. 

BAGLEY,  MISS  HELEN  DEWEY,  18  years,  24  Madisos 
Park ;  identified  by  J.  J.  Mahoney. 

BARKER,  ETHEL  M.,  27  years  old,  1925  Washington 
boulevard;  identified  by  father. 

BATTENFIELD,  MRS.  D.  W.,  43  years  old;  Delaware,  O. 

BATTENFIELD,  JOHN,  23  years  old;  Delaware,  O. 

BATTENFIELD,  ROBERT,  15  years  old;  Delaware,  01 

BATTENFIELD,  RUTH,  21  years  old;  Delaware,  O 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER,  327 

BESMICK,  JOSEPH,  West  Superior,  Wis. 

BEYER,  infant. 

BIRD,  MISS  MARION,  Tola,  111. ;  identified  by  cousin. 

BLOOM,  MRS.  ROSE,  3760  Indiana  avenue,  30  years  old 

BOEAM,  PAUL,  608  West  Fulton  street. 
1  BOETCHER,  MRS.  CHARLES,  4140  Indiana  avenue, 

BOICE,  W.  H.,  5721  Rosalie  court. 

BOICE,  Mrs.  W.  H.,  5721  Rosalie  court. 

BOICE,  MISS  BESSIE,  15  years  old,  5721  Rosalie  court. 

BOLTIE,  HELEN,  Winnetka,  aged  14. 

BOND,  LUCILE,  Hart,  Mich. ;  identified  by  an  aunt. 

BOWMAN,  MRS.  JOSEPHINE,  20  Chalmers  place;  iden^ 
tified  by  B.  F.  Jenkins,  a  neighbor. 

BOWMAN,  BEATRICE  M.,  33  years    old,    20    Chalmers 
place,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Josephine  Bowman. 

BOWMAN,  LUCIEN,  14  years  old,  20  Chalmers  place. 

BRADWELL,  MISS  MYRA,  Windsor  hotel. 

BRADY,  LEON,  4356  Forrestville  avenue. 

BROWN,  HAROLD,   16  years  old,  94  Thirty-first  street  t 
'  identified  by  Ella  Huggins. 

BUEHRMANN,  MARGARET,  13     years,  46  East  Fifty- 
third  street. 

BUTLER,  MRS.  F.  S.,  649  Michigan  street,  Evanston;  suf- 
focated by  smoke  in  first  balcony ;  body  identified  by  sister 

BOTSFORD,  MABEL  A.,  21  years  old,  Racine,  Wis. 

BARTLETT,  MRS.  WILLIAM,  Grossdale,  111. 

BERGH,  ARTHUR,  4926  Champlain  avenue. 

BOGGS,  MRS.  M.,  6933  Princeton  avenue. 

BRENNAN,    MARGARET,   40   years,   608   West   Fulton 
street. 

BAKER,  MISS  ADELAIDE,  17  years  old,  4410  Ellis  ave- 
nue. 


$28  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

BANSHEP,  GEORGE,  28  years  old,  engineer,  4847  For- 
restville  avenue. 

BARTESCH,  WILLIAM  C,  24  years  old,  464  Racine  ave- 
nue. 

BARTLETT,  ARTHUR,  6  years  old,  West  Grossdale,  111. 

BECKER,  MASON  A.,  3237  Groveland  avenue. 

BELL,  MISS  PET,  60  years  old,  3000  Michigan  avenue. 

BERG,  OLGA,  11  years  old,  408  West  One  Hundred  and 
Eleventh  street ;  identified  by  father. 

BERG,  FRANK. 

BERG,  MRS.  HELEN,  408  West  One  Hundred  and  Elev- 
enth street. 

BERG,  VICTOR,  II  years  old,  408  West  One  Hundred  and 
Eleventh  street;  identified  by  Frank  Berg,  father. 

BERGCH,  Mrs.  Annie,  30  years  old,  4926  Champlain  ave- 
nue. 

BERRY,  MISS  EMMA,  19  years  old,  236  Lincoln  avenue. 

BERRY,  MRS.  C.  C.,  56  years  old,  236  Racine  avenue. 

BERRY,  OTTO,  Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  visiting  at  236  Lincoln 
avenue. 

8EUTEL,  WILLIAM,  33  years  old,  Englewcod  avenue,  near 
Halsted  street 

BEYER,  OTTO,  38  years  old,  Diversey  boulevard. 

BEZENACK,  MRS.  NELLIE,  40  years  old. 

3IEGLER,  MISS  SUSAN  MARSHALL,  27  years  old, 
6518  Minerva  avenue. 

3LISS,  HAROLD  F.,  23  years  old,  Racine,  Wis. 

BLUM,  MRS.  ROSE,  30  years  old,  5248  Prairie  avenue. 

BOLTE,  LINDA  W.,  14  years  old,  Lakeside,  111. ;  identified 
by  uncle,  John  H.  Willard,  2942  Indiana  avenue. 

8RINSLEY.  EMMA  L.,  29  years  old,  909  Jackson  boule- 
vard. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  329 

BROWNE,  HAZEL  GRACE,  14  years  old,  South  Bend, 
Ind. 

BURKE,  BERTHA,  41  years  old,  511  West  Monroe  street; 
taken  to  Reedsville,  Wis. 

BUSCHWAH,  LOUISE  ALICE,  12  years  old,  1810  Wel- 
lington avenue. 

BUTLER,  BENNETT,  13  years  old,  649  Michigan  street, 
Evanston. 

C. 

CALDWELL,  ROBERT  PORTER,  15  years  old,  St.  Louis 

grain  dealer. 

CALVEN,  MRS.  HENRIETTA,  Knox,  Ind. 
CAVILLE,  ARTHUR,  24  years  old,  54  Twenty-sixth  street. 
CHAPMAN,  MISS  NINA,  23  years  old,  Cedar  Rapids,  la. 
CHRISTOPHERSON,  MRS.  MINNIE,  35  years  old,  231 

N.  Harvey  avenue. 

CLAY,  MISS  SUSIE,  36  years  old,  6409  Monroe  avenue. 
CLAYTON,  JOHN  V.,  13  years  old,  534  Morse  avenue. 
COGANS,  MRS.  MARGARETHA,  26  years  old,  5904  Nor- 
mal avenue. 
CUMINGS,  IRENE,  18  years,  5135  Madison  avenue.     Was 

with  Miss  Baker,  4410  Ellis  avenue,  who  was  injured.  They 

were  in  the  third  row  of  the  balcony. 
CROCKER,  MRS.  LILLIE  J.,  3730  Lake  avenue,  teacher 

at  Oakland  school.     She  went  to  the  theater  with  Mrs. 

Pierce  and  daughter,  of  Plainville,  Mich. 
CANT  WELL,  MRS.  THOMAS,  733  West  Adams  street, 

mother  of  Attorney  Robert  E.  Cantwell ;  identified  by  James 

Roche,  a  cousin. 

COHN,  MRS.  JACOB,  222  Ogden  avenue. 
COPLER,  LOLA,  18  vears  old,  address  not  known. 


330  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

CHAPMAN,  BESSIE,  19  years  old,  Cedar  Rapids,  la.,  211 

Lincoln  avenue;  identified  by  her  uncle,  C.  W.   Pierson. 

with  whom  she  was  visiting.     Was  at  theater  with  her 

sister  Nina. 
CHAPMAN,  NINA,  23  years  old,  211  Lincoln  avenue;  iden- 

tified Jby  her  uncle,  C.  W.  Pierson,  Cedar  Rapids,  la. 
COULTTS,  R.  H.,  1616  Wabash  avenue.     Body  identified 

by  granddaughter. 
CASPER,  CHARLES  E.,  Kenosha,  Wis.;  body  identified 

by  G.  H.  Curtis  of  Kenosha. 
CURBIN,  VERNON  W.,  10  years,  6938  Wentworth  ave- 

nue.    Identified  by  uncle,  Carlos  B.  Hinckley. 
CALDWELL,  ROY  A.  G.,  supposed;  identified  by  cards  in 

clothing. 

CLARK,  E.  D.,  30  years  old,  5432  Lexington  avenue. 
CHRISTIANSON,  HENRIETTA,  18  years  old,  445  West 

Sixty-fifth  street;  identified  by  W.  A.  Douglas. 
CHRISTOPHER,  MISS  BELL,  Decorah,  la. 
COOPER,  MRS.  HELEN  S.,  27  years  old,  Lena,  111. 
COOPER,  WILLIS  W.,  Kenosha,  Wis.,  son  of  Charles  F, 

Cooper,  Kenosha. 

COOPER,  CHARLES  R,  Kenosha,  Wis. 
CORBIN,  LOUISA,  37  years  old,  6938  Wentworth  avenue. 
CORCORAN,  MISS  FLORENCE,  218  Dearborn  avenue, 

identified  by  brother. 

CHAPIN,  AGNES,  4458  Berkeley  avenue. 
CORBIN,  NORMAN,  9  years,  Peoria,  111.  ;  identified  by  Vic 

tor  B.  Corbin. 


DEVINE,  CLARA,  29  years,  259  La  Salle  avenue  ;  identified 
by  M.  Reece. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  33* 

DYRENFORTH,  HELEN,  8  years  old,  daughter  of  Harold 

Dyrenforth,  832  Judson  avenue,  Evanston;  body  identified 

by  father. 
DYRENFORTH,  RUTH,  daughter  of  Harold  Dyrenforth 

Evanston;  body  identified  and  taken  away  by  relatives. 
DRYDEN,  TAYLOR,  12  years  old,  5803  Washington  ave- 
nue; body  identified  by  father. 
DRYDEN,  MRS.  JOHN,  5803  Washington  avenue,  mothei 

of  Taylor;  body  identified  by  husband. 
DAWSON,  MRS.  WILLIAM,  Harrington,  111. 
DECKER,  MYRON,  3237  Groveland  avenue. 
DELEE,  VIOLA,  22  years  old,  daughter  of  the  late  Lieut. 

W.  J.  Delee,  of  Central  police  detail,  7822  Union  avenue; 

body  identified  by  M.  J.  Delee,  her  uncle. 
DIFFENDORF,  MRS.,  45  years  old,  Lincoln,  111. 
DIXON,  LEAH,  100  Flournoy  street. 
DUNLAVEY,  J.,  6050  Wabash  avenue. 
DIXON,  EDNA,  9  years  old,  100  Flournoy  street. 
DODD,  MRS.  J.  F.,  45  years  old,  Delaware,  O. 
DOQD,  MISS  RUTH,  12  year*  old,  Delaware,  O.;  identifier 

by  Dr.  E.  S.  Coe. 
DOLAN,  MARGARET. 
DONALDSON,  CLARA  E. 

DORR,  LILLIAN,  16  years  old,  4924  Champlain  avenue. 
DOWST,  MRS.  CHARLES,  927  Hinman  avenue,  Evans 

ton ;  body  identified  by  husband. 
DRYCHAU,  MRS.  JOHN,  of  St.  Louis. 
DU  VALL,  MRS.  ELIZABETH,  498  Fullerton  avenue,  40 

years  old. 
DU  VALL,  SARAH,  10  years  old.   South  Zanesville,  O.; 

identified  by  aunt. 
DECKHUT,  MAE,  Quincy,  111.;  body  identified. 


332  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

DAWSON,  GRACE,  5  years  old,  334  Harding  street;  iden- 
tified by  her  father. 

DANNER,  J.  M.,  55  years  old,  Burlington,  la. ;  identified  by 
his  son-in-law,  Harry  Wunderlich,  Wilson  avenue  and 
Clark  street. 

DAVY,  MRS.  ELIZABETH,  53  years  old,  34  Roslyn  place. 

DAVY,  MISS  HELEN,  15  years  old,  35  Roslyn  place. 

DAWSON,  THERESA,  25  years,  10  Market  avenue,  Pull- 
man; identified  by  husband. 

DAY,  MRS.  SARAH,  50  years  old,  colored. 

DECKER,  KATE  K.,  58  years  old,  3228  Groveland  avenue. 

DECKER,  MAMIE,  33  years  old,  3237  Graveland  avenue, 

DEE,  EDDIE,  7  years  old,  3133  Wabash  avenue. 

DEE,  LOUISE,  2  years,  3133  Wabash  avenue. 

DEVINE,  MARGARET,  22  years  old,  95  Kendall  street. 

DICKIE,  EDITH,  25  years  old,  school  teacher,  619  Sixty- 
fifth  place. 

DIFFENDORFER,  LEANDER,  16  years  old,  Lincoln,  111. 

DINGFELDER,  WINIFRED  E.,  18  years  old,  Jonesville, 
Mich. 

DONAHUE,  MARY  E.,  18  years  old,  1040  West  Taylor 
street. 

DOOLEY,  MRS.,  Claremont  avenue,  near  Ohio  street. 

DOTTS,  MARGARET  S.,  32  years  old,  188  North  Eliza- 
beth street;  identified  by  husband. 

DOW,  FLORENCE,  17  years  old,  642  West  Sixtieth  street. 

DRAY,  VICTORIA,  22  years  old,  Indiana  avenue. 

DREISEL,  CLARA,  30  years  old,  North  Robey  street  and 
Potomac  avenue. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  333 

E. 

EDWARDS,  MARGERY,  14  years  old,  Clinton,  la.,  identi- 
fied by  father,  William  Edwards;  father  and  daughter  were 
guests  at  700  Fullerton  avenue. 
EBERSTEIN,  FRANK  B.,  20  years  old,  84  Twenty-sixth 

street,  identified  by  his  father. 
EISENDRATH,  MRS.  S.  M.,  10  Crilly  court. 
EISENDRATH,  NATALIE,  10  years  old,  10  Crilly  court, 
EBERSTEIN,  MRS.  J.  A.,  84  Twenty-sixth  street,  ident! 

fied  by  husband  and  sister. 
ENGEL,  MAURICE,  73  Dawson  avenue,  identified  by  namf 

on  charm. 
ELAND,  ALMA,  nurse,  with  two  children  of  Harold  Dyren- 

forth,  832  Judson  avenue,  Evanston. 
ESPER,  EM1L,  31  years,  190  Osgood  street. 
ERNST,   ROSENE,  202    Twenty-fourth    place.     Identified 

by  mother. 
ESTEN,  ROSA,  23  years,  305  Halsted  street;  identified  by 

M.  Eighberg. 

EBBERT,  MRS.  J.  H.,  48  years  old,  5516  Marshfield  avenue 
EDDUZE,  HARRY,  16  years  old,  Mattoon. 
EDWARDS,  MRS.  M.  L.,  Clinton,  la. 
EGER,  MRS.  GUS,  3760  Indiana  avenue. 
EISENSTAEDT,  HERBERT  S.,  16  years  old,  4549  For 

restville  avenue. 

ELDRIDGE,  HARRY,  17  years  old,  Mattoon. 
ELDRIDGE,  MONTEK,  18  years  old,  6063  Jefferson  avt 

nue. 

ELKAU,  ROSE,  14  years  old,  3434  South  Park  avenue. 
ELLIS,  MRS.  ANNIE,  40  years  old,  207  East  Sixty-seconc 

street. 
ENGELS,  MINNIE,  36  years  old,  73  Dawson  avenue 


334 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


ERSIG,  TYRONE,   17  years  old,    239    West    Sixty-sixth 

street. 
EVANS,  MATTIE,  Burlington,  la. 


F. 


FAIR,  MISS  ELLEN,  45  years  old,  7564  Bond  avenue. 
FALK,  GERTRUDE,  20  years  old,  3839  Elmwood  place. 
FITZGIBBON,  ANNA  G.,   17  years  old,    2954    Michigan 

avenue. 
FLANNAGAN,  THOMAS  J.,  24  years  old,  employed  at 

Iroquois. 

FOLICE,  NELLIE,  22  years  old,  301  Claremont  avenue. 
FOWLER,  ELVA,  17  years,  3450  West  Sixty-third  place. 
FRAZER,  MRS.  EDWARD  S.,  Aurora,  111. 
FRIEDRICH,  MRS.  HELEN,  35  years    old,    341    Center 

street. 
FREER,  JENNIE  E.  CHRISTY,  53  years  old,  Galesburg, 

111. 

FRICKELTON,  EDITH,  23  years  old,  632  Peoria  street. 
FRICKELTON,  GEORGE  E.,   17  years  old,  5632  Peoria 

street. 

FROST,  P.  O. 
FOX,  MRS.  EVELYN,  Winnetka,    daughter    of    W.    M. 

Hoyt;  was  accompanied  by  three  children,  all  of  whom 

are  dead;  body  of  mother  found  by  Graeme  Stewart. 
FOX,  GEORGE  SYDNEY,  15  years  old,  son  of  Mrs.  Fox.. 
FOX ,  EMILY,  9  years  old,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Fox. 
FOX,  HOYT,  12  years  old,  son  of  Mrs.  Fox. 
FRADY,  MRS.  E.  C,  4356  Forrestville  avenue. 
FR.ADY,  LEON,  4356  Forrestville  avenue. 
FOLTZ,  MRS.  C,  O.,  1886  Diversey  boulevard, 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  335 

FOLEY,  H. 

FALKENSTEIN,  GERTRUDE,  identified  by  card  in  cloth- 
ing. 

FITZGIBBONS,  JOHN  J.,  18  years  old,  2954  Michigan 
avenue. 

FEISER,  A1ARY,  793  North  Springfield  avenue,  wife  of  a 
Larrabee  street  patrolman. 

FAHEY,  MARY,  25  years  old,  4860  Kimbark  avenue;  iden- 
tified by  T.  H.  Fahey. 

FOLKE,  ADA,  23  years  old,  Bervvyn. 

FORBUSCH,  MRS.  C.  W.,  35  years  old,  927  Hinman  ave- 
nue, Evanston ;  identified  by  W.  P.  Marsh. 

FOLTZ,  ALICE,  1886  Diversey  boulevard. 

FORT,  PHOEBE  IRENE,  principal  of  Myra  Bradwell 
school,  146  Thirty-sixth  street. 

FRACK,  ODESSA,  Ottawa,  111. 

FRANTZEN,  LINDA,  Winnetka. 


G. 


GARN,  MRS.  FRANK  WARREN,  831  West  Monroe 
street,  daughter  of  L.  Wolff,  1319  Washington  boulevard, 
attended  the  theater  with  her  sons,  Frank,  10  years  old,  and 
Willie,  9  years  old.  All  perished.  Mrs.  Garn  was  iden- 
tified by  her  husband. 

GARN,  FRANK  L.,  10  years  old,  831  West  Monroe  street. 

GARN,  WILLIE,  9  years  old,  831  West  Monroe  street. 

GUSTAFSON,  MISS  ALMA,  10003  Avenue  N,  teacher  in 
the  John  L.  Marsh  school  at  South  Chicago.  She  attend- 
ed the  theater  with  Miss  Carrie  Sayre  and  a  party  of  school 
teachers  from  South  Chicago. 

GOULD,  MRS.  B.  E.,  identified  by  friends  through  jewelry. 


336 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


GOULD,  B.  E.,  Elgin,  111.,  clerk  of  the  Circuit  court  of  Kane 
county.  Mr.  Gould  was  accompanied  to  the  play  by  his 
wife,  who  also  perished. 

GARTZ,  HARRY,  4860  Kimbark  avenue. 

GARTZ,  MARY  DORETHEA,  4860  Kimbark  avenue,  12 
years  old,  daughter  of  A.  F.  Gartz,  treasurer  of  the  Crane 
company;  attended  theater  with  sister,  Barbara,  maid  and 
nurse;  all  perished. 

GARTZ,  BARBARA,  4  years,  4863  Kimbark  avenue;  iden- 
tified by  Maud  Purcell. 

GERON,  MRS.  MABLE,  Winnetka;  body  identified  by  her 
brother. 

GAHAN,  JOSEPHINE,  129  Twenty-fifth  place. 

GASS,  MRS.  JOSEPH,  243  Grace  street. 

GEARY,  PAULINE,  21  years  old,  4627  Indiana  avenue. 

GEIK,  MRS.  EMILE,  died  at  St.  Luke's  hospital. 

GESTREN,  ALMA. 

GRAFF,   MRS.   REINHOLD,  Bloomington,  111. 

GRAVES,  MRS.  CLARA,  wife  of  W.  C.  Graves,  723  East 
Chicago  avenue;  identified  by  sister-in-law,  Lucetta  Graves. 

GUDELMANS,  SOFIA,  327  North  Ashland  avenue. 

GOOLSBY,  MISS  VERA,  of  Americus,  Ga. ;  attending  col- 
lege in  Chicago. 

GERHART,  BERRY,  25  years  old. 

GOERK,  DORA,  1030  Bryan  avenue,  10  years  old. 

GUERNI,  JENNIE,  135  North  Sangamon  street. 

GUTHARDT,  MISS  LIBBY,  16  years  old,  159  One  Hun- 
dred and  Thirteenth  street. 


H. 

HAINSLEY,  FRANCES,  5  years,  Logansport,  Ind.;  identi^ 
fied  by  father. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  j.\: 

HARBAUGH,  MARY  E.,  30  years  old,  6653  Harvard  ave 
nue. 

HOFFEIN,   MISS  ADELINE  J.   C,   24  years  old,  29; 
Haddon  avenue. 

HARTMAN,  JOHN,  5705  South  Halsted  street. 

HENNING,  CHARLES,  6  years  old,  5743  Prairie  avenue. 

HENNING,  WILLIAM,  14  years  old.' 

HENNESSY,  WILLIAM,  14  years  old,  4411  Calumet  ave- 
nue. 

HICKMAN,  MRS.  CHARLES,  24  years  old,  4743  Calumet 
avenue. 

HIGGINSON,  JANITHE  B.,  2  years  old,  Winnetka,  111.; 
identified  by  P.  D.  Sexton,  418  East  Huron  street. 

HIPPACH,  ROBERT  A.,  14  years  old,  2928  Kenmore  ave- 
nue. 

HIVE,  ENA  M.,  15  years  old,  613  West  Sixty-first  place. 

HOLLAND,  JOHN  H.,  60  years  old,  6429  Evans  avenue. 

HOLST,  MRS.  MARY  W.,  36  years  old,  2088  Van  Buren 
street. 

HOLST,  AMY,  7  years  old,  2088  Van  Buren  street. 

HOWARD,  MRS.  MARY  E.,  54  years  old,  Jonesville, 
Mich.;  identified  by  son,  Frank  Howard,  3812  Prairie  ave- 
nue. 

HOLM,  HULDA,  176  North  Western  avenue. 

HULL,  MARIANNE  K.,  32  years  old,  244  Oakwood  boule 
vard. 

HULL,  HELEN,  12  years  old,  244  Oakwood  boulevard. 

HULL,  DWIGHT,  6  years  old,  244  Oakwood  boulevard. 

HULL,  DONALD,  8  years  old,  244  Oakwood  boulevard. 

HAYES,  FRANK,  22  years  old,  son  of  Police  Sergeant 
Dennis  Hayes,  Larrabee  street  station ;  identified  by  younger 
b'rother. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

HAVELAND,  LEIGH,  daughter  of  J.  P.  Haveland,  31  Hum- 
boldt  boulevard;  body  identified  by  father.  Later  father 
found  the  body  of  Clyde  O.  Thompson,  Wisconsin  univer- 
sity student,  who  was  guest  at  Haveland  home  and  had  ac- 
companied the  daughter  to  the  theater. 

HUDHART,  ADELAIDE,  41  years  old,  159  One  Hundred 
and  Thirteenth  street ;  identified  by  her  husband,  James  Hud- 
hart. 

HIPPACH,  JOHN,  8  years  old,  son  of  senior  member  of  firm 
of  Tyler  &  Hippach. 

HART,  MRS.  NELLIE  E.,  Atkinson,  111.;  identified  by 
father,  John  English. 

HUTCHINS,  MISS  JEANETTE,  22  years  old,  teacher  at 
Winnetka ;  identified  by  brother. 

HOWARD,  HELEN,  16  years  old,  6565  Yale  avenue;  was 
a  student  at  Englewood  High  School. 

HICKMAN,  CHARLES,  4743  Calumet  avenue;  identified  by 
Dr.  H.  H.  Steele. 

HALL,  EMERY  M.,  husband  6f  E.  Grace  Hall,  the  Vermont, 
571  East  Fifty-first  street. 

HOLST,  GERTRUDE,  12  years  old,  2088  Van  Buren  street; 
identified  by  her  father. 

HRODY,  MRS.  ANNA,  35  years  old,  1353  South  Fortieth 
avenue. 

HEWINS,  DR.  EMERY,  Petersburg,  Ind.;  body  identified 
by  daughter. 

HELMS,  OTTO  H.,  77  Maple  street. 

HENNING,  EDDIE,  14  years  old,  4753  Prairie  avenue. 

HENSLEY,   MRS.   GUY,  Logansport,  Ind. 

HENSLEY,  GENEVIEVE,  8  years  old,  Logansport,  Ind. 

HEWINS,  MRS.  L.,  20  years  old,  Petersburg,  Ind. ;  identified 
by  friends. 


1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  335 

HENRY,  MRS.  G.  A.,  1198  Wilton  avenue. 

HERRON,  BESSIE  L.,  133  Conduit  street,  Hammond,  Ind. 

HIGGINS,  ROGER  G.,  9  years  old,  419  East  Huron  street. 

HIGGINSON,  MISS  JEANETTE,  Winnetka;  body  identi- 
fied by  her  brother. 

HENNESSY,  WILLIAM,  441 1  Calumet  avenue. 

HOLMES,  MRS. 

HUTCHINS,  MISS  FLORENCE,  Waukegan. 

HART,  MISS  ELIZABETH,  Sherman  avenue  and  Demp- 
ster street,  Evanston. 

HERGER,  BERTHA,  Hammond,  Ind. ;  identified  by  Thomas 
Weisman. 

HIRSCH,  MARY,  19  years  old,  617  Halsted  street. 

HOLBERTON,  E.  R. 

HOLST,  ALLAN  B.,  12  years  old,  2088  Van  Buren  street; 
son  of  William  M.  Hoist ;  identified  by  father. 

HENSLEY,  MARIAN,  5  years  old,  Logansport,  daughter  of 
G.  Hensley. 

I. 

[RLE,  MRS.  ANDREW,  32  years  old,  1240  Lawrence  ave- 
nue, wife  of  Andrew  Irle,  assistant  superintendent  of  the 
Pinkerton  National  Detective  Agency;  body  identified  by 
name  in  wedding  ring. 

J. 

JAMES.  C.  D.,  40  years  old,  Davenport,  la. 
JAMES,  C.  O. ;  identified  by  card  in  clothing. 
JONES,  MRS.  ANNA,  46  East  Fifty-third  street. 
JACKSON,  VERA  R.,  19  years  old,  216  Humboldt  boule- 
vard. 


340  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

JONES,  MRS.  WARNER  E.,  38  years  old,  Tuscola,  111.; 
visiting  at  46  East  Fifty-third  street. 

K. 

KOCHEMS,  JACOB  A.,  17  years,  262  Warren  avenue;  iden- 
tified by  father. 

KENNEDY,  AGNES,  6528  Ross  avenue,  former  teacher  at 
Hendricks  and  Melville  W.  Fuller  schools. 

KENNEDY,  FRANCES,  Winnetka. 

KELL,   MRS.   CHARLES. 

KAUFFMAN,  ALICE,  5  years  old,  Hammond,  Ind. 

KOCHEMS,  MRS.  FRANK,  262  Warren  avenue;  identified 
by  husband. 

KRANZ,  MRS.  SARAH,  Racine,  Wis.;  died  at  Samaritan 
hospital. 

KUEBLER,  LOLA,  16  years  old,  344  Fiftieth  street. 

KULAS,  MRS.  GEORGIANA,  349  Chestnut  street;  identi- 
fied by  Mrs.  C.  J.  Benshaw. 

KURLEY,  MINNIE,  5  years  old,  Logansport,  Ind. 

KEKMAN,  FRAMELLES,  525  Austin  avenue. 

KOUTHES,  MRS.  E.  K.,  Montreal. 

KWASUIEWSKI,  JOHN,  25  years  old,  122  Cleaver  street. 


LAKE,  MRS.  ALFRED,  60  years  old,  278  Belden  avenue. 
LANGE,  HERBERT,  16  years  old,  1632  Barry  avenue. 
LANGE,  AGNES,  14  years  old,  1632  Barry  avenue;  body 

identified  by  her  father. 

LA  ROSE,  LAURA,  12  years,  833  N.  Clark  street. 
LA  ROSE,  JOSEPHINE,  8  years  old,  833  N.  Clark  street 
LA  ROSE,  MATILDA,  10  years  old,  833  N.  Clark  street 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  34? 

LEATON,  FRED  W.,  24  years  old,  University  of  Chicago. 
LEA  YEN  WORTH,  MRS.  CARRIE,  45  years  old,  Decatur. 
LEFMAN,  MRS.  SUSIE,  38  years  old,  Laporte,  Ind. 
LEHMAN,  MISS  FRANCES  M.,  525  North  Austin  avenue, 

Oak  Park,  a  teacher  in  the  H.  H.  Nash  school. 
LEMENAGER,  MRS.  JESSIE,  38  years  old,  53  Waveland 

Park. 

LEVENSON,  ROSE,  28  years  old,  268  Ogden  avenue. 
LONG,  RYAN,  12  years  old,  Geneva,  111. 
LONG,  HELEN,  14  years  old,  Geneva,  111. 
LONG,  KATHERINE,  9  years  old,  Geneva,  111. 
LUDWIG,  MISS  EUGENIE,  18  years  old,  Norwood  Park. 
LASSMANN,  MRS.   SUSIE,  Laporte,  Ind.;  identified  by 

Frederick  M.  Burdick,  a  friend. 
LIVINGSTON,  MRS.  DAISY,   271   Oakwood  boulevard; 

body  identified  by  her  brother,  T.  B.  Livingston. 
LOWITZ,  MRS.  NATHAN,  274  Sheffield  avenue;  identified 

by  means  of  ring,  "Nat  to  Minnie." 
LOWITZ,  MRS.  N.  S.,  Keokuk,  la. 
LEATON,  FRED  W.,  aged  25  years,  537  East  Fifty-fifth 

street;  medical  student  at  the  University  of  Chicago;  home 

at  Terry,  S.  D. 
LINDEN,  ELLA,  21  years  old,  4625  Lake  avenue;  identified 

by  her  brother,  Frank  Linden. 
LOVE,  MARGARET,  Fulton  street 

M. 

MAHLER,  EDITH  L.,  8  years  old,  2141  Jackson  Boulevard. 
MANN,  MISS  EMMA  D.,  teacher  of  music  in  public  schools ; 

1388  Washington  boulevard;  identified  by  Louis  Mann,  her 

brother. 


34*  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER, 

MACKAY,  ROLAND  S.,  6  years  old,  5029  Indiana  avenue 
MARTIN,  HAROLD  C,  14  years  old,  n  Market  circle. 
MARTIN,  ROBERT  B.,  12  years  old,  Pullman,  111. 
M'CHRISTIE,  MISS  ANNA,  27  years  old,  6315  Lexingtot 

avenue. 
M'GUNIGLE,  MISS  MAYME,  30  years  old,  New  York 

visiting-  Miss  Reidy,  614  South  Sawyer  avenue. 
MEAGLER,  MISS  MARIA,  656  Orchard  street,  a  school 

teacher. 

MEYER,  ELSA,  H.,  10  years  old,  lived  at  Grossdale,  111. 
MILLER,  HELEN,  23  years  old,  369  West  Huron  street. 
MILLS,  CHARLES  V.,  623  Sedgwick  street. 
MILLS,  MRS.  W.  A.,  623  Sedgwick  street. 
MILLS,  ISABELLA,  21  years  old,  6263  Jefferson  street. 
MOORE,  MRS.  MATTIE,  33  years  old,  Hart,  Mich.;  stay- 
ing with  sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Bond,  at  4123  Indiana  avenue; 

identified  by  Herman  Mathias,  107  Madison  street. 
MOSSLER,  PEARLINE,  13  years  old,  Rensselaer,  Ind. 
MUIR,  S.  A.,  35  years  old,  301  Winthrop  avenue;  connected 

with  the  Chase  Furniture  Company,  1411  Michigan  avenue; 

identified  by  George  B.  Chase,  vice-president  of  the  com- 
pany. 

M'CLURG,  ROY,  14  years  old,  5803  Superior  street,  Austin, 
M'MILLEN,  MABEL,  20  years  old,  2824  North  Hermitage 

avenue. 
M'KENNA,  BERNARD,  2  years  old,  758  Kedzie  avenue  I 

body  identified  by  the  father. 
MOLONEY,  ALICE,  daughter  .of  former  Attorney  General 

Moloney,  Ottawa,  111.;  body  identified  by  her  father  and 

brother. 
MARTIN,  EARL,  7  years  old,  son  of  Z,  E.  Martin,  Oat 

Park ;  body  identified  by  father. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  34* 

MUIR,  MAMIE,  Peoria,  111. ;  identified  by  name  on  clothing 

MURRAY,  CHARLES;  identified  by  letters  found  in  cloth- 
ing. 

MARKS,  MISS  MAY,  19  years  old,  69  North  Humboldt 
boulevard. 

McCAUGHAN,  HELEN,  16  years  old,  6565  Yale  avenue. 

MEAD,  MRS.  278  Belden  avenue;  identified  from  clothing. 

MERRIAM,  MRS.  H.  H.,  489  Fullerton  avenue;  body  iden- 
tified by  Dr.  Hequenbourg., 

MERRIMAN,  MILDRED,  daughter  of  W.  A.  Merriman, 
manager  of  George  A.  Fuller's. 

MITCHELL,  MISS  DORA,  20  years  old,  Laporte,  Ind.; 
identified  by  friends. 

MYERS,  ELSIE,  8  years,  Grossdale,  111. 

McKEE,  T.  W.,  64  years  old;  identified  by  Lola  Lee. 

MOAK,  ANNA,  278  Belden  avenue. 

MANN,  MISS  EMMA  D.,  18  years  old,  1388  Washington 
boulevard;  identified  by  Louis  Mann,  her  brother. 

MATCHETTE,  EMILY,  21  years  old,  636  Sixtieth  street 

MOOHAN,  H.  B.,  30  years  old. 

MOORE,  MRS.  KITTIE,  45  years  old,  119  West  Fifty-ninth 
street. 

MUIR,  MRS.  EUGENIA,  301  Winthrop  avenue. 

MILLER,  WILLARD,  9  years  old,  4919  Vincennes  avenue. 

McCLELLAND,  JOSEPH,  Harvard,  111. ;  identified  by  uncle. 

McCLURE,  LAWRENCE,  230  East  Superior  street;  identi- 
fied by  George,  his  brother. 

McGILL,  ELIZABETH,  12  years  old,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  guest  at 
residence  of  Charles  Koll,  496  Ashland  avenue ;  identified  by 
her  mother. 

McKENNA,  MRS.  JOHN  L.,  758  Kedzie  avenue 

MEAD,  LUCILLE,  11  years  old,  Berwyn. 


344 


1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


McLAUGHLIN,  WILLIAM  L.,  nephew  of  Mrs.  Frank  W. 
Gunsaulus,  died  at  9  '.30  p.  m.,  at  Presbyterian  hospital. 

MENDEL,  MRS.  HERMAN,  53  years,  5555  Washington 
avenue;  the  body  was  shipped  to  Neola,  la.,  for  burial  on 
Sunday;  Mr.  Mendel  is  a  retired  banker. 

MENGER,  MISS  ANNIE,  222  Twenty-fourth   place;  iden-  \ 
tified  by  Elta  Menzeh 

MILLS,  PEARL  M.,  5613  Kimbark  avenue;  identified  by 
Ward  Mills. 

MOAK,  LENA,  19  years  old,  Watertown,  Wis.;  guest  at  278 
Belden  avenue. 

MOORE,  BENJAMIN,  119  West  Fifty-ninth  street;  iden- 
tified by  grandson. 

MOORE,  MISS  SYBIL,  Hart,    Mich.;  identified  by  letter. 

MURPHY,  DEWITT  J.,  1340  Sheffield  avenue;  identified 
by  father. 

MURRAY,  CHARLES,  36  years  old,  Martinsburg,  O.;  iden- 
tified by  J.  H.  Dodd. 

MUELLER,  MRS.  EMELIA,  60  years,  Milwaukee;  iden- 
tified by  daughter,  Mrs.  Herman  Groth. 

MORRIS,  MABEL  A.,  17  years  old,  5124   Dearborn  street. 

MULHOLLAND,  JOSEPHINE,  33  years,  4409  Wabash 
avenue;  identified  by  Clarke  Griffith. 

N. 

NEWMAN,  MRS.  MARY,  32  years  old,  housekeeper  for  the 

Rev.  Father  J.  C.  Ocenasek,  pastor  of  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes 

church. 
NEWBY,  MRS.  LUTHER  G.,  Drexel  hotel;  identified  by  her 

father. 
NEWMAN,  MRS.  ANNA,  West  Grossdale;  identified 

her  rings. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  345 

NORTON,  MATTIE,  Ontonagon,    Mich.,    attending   school 

at  Academy  of  the  Visitation,  Ridge  avenue  and  Emerson 

street,  Evanston. 
NORTON,  EDITH  N.,  Ontonagon,  Mich.,  attending  school 

at  Academy  of  the  Visitation,  Evanston. 
NEWMAN,  ARTHUR,  10  years,  West  Grossdale. 
NORRIS,  MRS.  LIBBIE  A.,  30  years  old,  5124  Dearborn 

street. 
NORRIS,  MABEL,  20  years  old,  5124  Dearborn  street 

O. 

ORLE,  MABEL  M.,  1240  Lawrence  avenue. 

OWEN,  DR.,  Wheaton,  111.,  died  at  the  Homeopathic  Hos- 
pital. 

OWEN,  MRS.  MARY,  44  years,  Wheaton. 

OAKLEY,  DR.  ALBERT  J.,  40  years  old,  Sixty-fifth  and 
Stewart  avenue;  identified  by  Dr.  L.  Phillips. 

OXNAM,  FLORENCE,  16  years  old,  435  Englewood  ave- 
nue. 

OAKEY,  LUCILE,  13  years  old,  daughter  of  A.  J.  Oakey, 
Sixty-fifth  street  and  Stewart  avenue, 

OAKEY,  MARIAN,  11  years  old,  Sixty-fifth  street  and 
Stewart  avenue;  identified  by  F.  R.  Bradford. 

OLSEN,  MRS.  O.  M.,  833  Walnut  street;  identified  by  hus^ 
band. 

OLSON,  MISS  AUGUSTA,  27  years  old,  218  Seventy^ 
ninth  place;  identified  by  brother-in-law. 

OWEN,  WILLIAM  MURRAY,  12  years  old;  body  identified 
by  father. 

OWENS,  AMY,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Owens,  6241  Kimbark 
avenue. 

OWENS,  MRS.  FRANCES  O.,  6241  Kimbark  avenue 


346 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 


OLSON,  ELVIRA,  18  years  old,  daughter  of  William  H 
Olson,  7010  Stewart  avenue. 

P. 

PERSINGER,  HEWITT,  10  years  old,  50  Florence  avenue ; 

identified  by  J.  W.  Harrison,  a  cousin. 
PASSE,  ELIZABETH,  6  years  old,  552  East  Forty-ninth 

street;  identified  by  her  father. 

PAGE,  CHARLES  T.,  6562  Stewart  avenue;  body  identified. 
PAGE,  HARROLD,  6562  Stewart  avenue,  12  years  old. 
PAULMAN,  WILLIAM,  22  years  old,   3738  State  street. 
PAYSON,  RUTH,    14  years  old,    I   Elizabeth  street,   Oak 

Park. 

PECK,  WILLIS  W.,  2644  North  Hermitage  avenue. 
PIERCE,  MRS.  L.  H.,  32  years  old,  Plainwell,   Mich. ;  guest 

at  home  of  her  brother,  R.  B.  Carter,  3821  Lake  avenue,  who 

identified  body. 
POWER,  MISS  LILLY,  442  West  Seventieth  street,  21  years 

old. 

POLZIN,  HENRIETTA,  Knox,    Ind. 

PAGE,  BERTHA,  45  years  old,  6562  Stewart  avenue  iden- 
tified by  a  brother. 
PEASE,  MRS.  GRACE,  wife  of  P.  S.  Pease,  6140  Ingleside 

avenue;  body  identified. 
PEASE,  ELIZABETH,  7     years  old,  daughter     of  P.  S. 

Pease. 
PECK,  ETHEL  M.,  16  years  old,  2042  Hermitage  avenue; 

identified  by  Dr.  Steele. 
PELTON,   MISS   LILLIAN,   30  years  old,  Des  Moines; 

identified  by  W.  F.  Wilson  of  Des  Moines. 
PERSINGER,  MRS.  FRANK,  50  Florence  avenue;  iden 

tified  from  clothing. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  34/ 

PINNEY,  MRS.  BELLE,  353  South  Leavitt  street. 

PALMER,  MRS.  KATIE,  33  years  old,  1141   Judson  avenue, 
Evanston. 

PALMER,  RICHARD  G.,  14  years  old,  1141    Judson  ave- 
nue, Evanston. 

PALMER,  WILLIAM,  42  years  old;  salesman;  1141  Judson 
avenue,  Evanston. 

PALMER,  HOWARD,  10  years  old,  1141  Judson  avenue; 
Evanston. 

POLTE,  LINDEN  W.,  14  years  old,  Lakeside,  111.;  body 
identified  by  John  W.  Willard,  uncle. 

PATTERSON,  CRAWFORD  JULIAN,  12  years  old,  4467 
Oakenwald  avenue. 

PATTERSON,  WILLIAM  ADDISON,  10  years  old,  4467 
Oakenwald  avenue. 

PAYNE,  MRS.  JAMES,  357  Garfield  boulevard,  35  years. 

PEASE,  MRS.  AUGUSTA,  55  years,  552  East  Forty-ninth 
street. 

PILAT,  JOSEPHINE,  13  years  old,  34  Humboldt  boulevard. 

POND,  MRS.  EVA,  1272  Lyman  avenue. 

POND,  RAYMOND,  14  years  old,  1272  Lyman  avenue,  Ra- 
venswood. 

POND,  HELEN,  7  years  old,  1272  Lyman  avenue,  Ravens- 
wood. 

POTTLITZER,  JACK,  11  years  old,  Lafayette,  Ind. 

PRIDEMORE,  EDITH  S.,  32    years  old,  Fifty-eighth  and 
Kimbark  avenue. 

Q. 

QUITCH,  MRS.  W.  J.,  249  North  Ashland  avenue. 


348  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

R. 

RATTEY,  WILLIAM  A.,  917  North  Artesian  avenue,  died 
at  the  county  hospital  from  burns  and  internal  injuries; 
identified  by  Charles  J.  Rattey,  980  Talman  avenue,  his 
brother. 

REED,  NELLIE,  66  Rush  street,  leader  of  the  flying  ballet  in 
the  "Mr.  Bluebeard"  company,  died  at  the  county  hospital 
from  burns  on  the  body;  she  was  identified  by  Hermann 
Schultz  of  New  York,  a  member  of  the  company. 

REGENSBURG,  HELEN,  daughter  of  Samuel  H.  Regens- 
burg,  Vendome  hotel,  Sixty-second  street  and  Monroe  ave- 
nue. 

REGENSBURG,  HAZEL,  daughter  of  Samuel  H.  Regens- 
burg,  Vendome  hotel. 

REIDY,  ANNA,  614  South  Sawyer  avenue,  daughter  of 
Policeman  John  Reidy. 

REISS,  ERNEST,  n     years  old,  4244  Vincennes  avenue; 

identified  by  uncle. 

•* 

REIDY,  MARY,  614  Sawyer  avenue,  sister  of  Anna. 

REIDY,  NELLIE,  614  Sawyer  avenue,  and  sister  of  other 
two  women,  identified  by  Catherine  Campbell,  623  South 
Sawyer  avenue. 

REISS,  ERNA,  3760  Indiana  avenue. 

REITER,  MISS  REINA,  55  years  old,  30x30  Michigan  ave- 
nue; with  Miss  Reiter  at  the  play  was  her  sister,  Miss  Pet 
Bell,  Potomac  apartments. 

REITER,  MRS.  M.  S.,  3000  Michigan  avenue;  identified  by 
C.  F.  Cooper. 

ROBERTSON,  MINNIE,  15  years  old,  Park  Ridge;  body 
identified  by  brother. 

RANKIN,  MRS.  MARTHA,  498  Fullerton  avenue. 

RANKIN,  LOUISE,  South  Zanesville,  O. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER, 

REID,  COL.  W.  M.,  Waukegan,  aged  70  years,  formerly  as- 
sessor ;  identified  by  papers  in  his  pocket,  by  R.  G.  Lyon, 

REID,  MRS.  W.  M.,  Waukegan. 

RICHARDSON,  THE  REV.  H.  L.,  44  years  old,   5737 
Drexel  avenue,  pastor  of  Congregational  Church  in  Whiting, 

'    Ind. ;  also  student  in  the  divinity  school  of  the  University  of 
Chicago ;  was  pastor  of  a  Congregational  Church  in  Ripon 
Wis.,  for  twelve  years. 

RIFE,  MRS.  WILLIAM,  516  East  Forty-sixth  street. 

RIMES,  DR.  M.  B.,  6331  Wentworth  avenue;  attended  thea- 
ter  with  wife  and  three  sons. 

RIMES,  MRS.  M.  B.,  wife  of  Dr.  Rimes. 

RIMES,  MYRON,  10  years  old,  son  of  Dr.  Rimes, 

RIMES,  THOMAS  M.,  7  years  old,  son  of  Dr.  Rimes. 

RIMES,  LLOYD  B.,  5  years  old,  son  cf  Dr.  Rimes. 

ROGERS,  ROSE,  32  years,  1342  North  Sangamon  street 
identified  by  husband. 

ROBERTS,  THEODORE. 

RUBLY,  MRS.  LOUISE,  60  years  old,  838  Wilson  avenue r 
identified  by  her  son,  G.  H.  Rubly. 

RADCLIFFE,  ANNA,  6404  Calumet  avenue. 

RAYNOLDS,  DORA,  18  years  old,  4216  Forty-fifth  street 

REIDY,  ELENORA,  20  years  old,  614  South  Sawyer  ave- 
nue. 

REIDY,  JOHN  J.,  614  South  Sawyer  avenue. 

REISS,  ERNEST,  n  years  old,  4244  Vincennes  avenue, 

REYNOLDS,  MARIE,  30  years,  Sunnyside  park. 

ROBBINS,  RUTH  W.,  Madison,  Wis. 

ROETCHE,  LILLIAN,  20  years  old. 

ROTTIE,  LILLIAN,  10  years  old,  7218  Lafayette  avenue 
RUHLEMAN,  CLARA,  63  years  old,  Detroit. 


550  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

RUTIGAR,  MRS.  ELEANOR,  55  years  old,  750  South 
Trumbull  avenue. 

S. 

SANDS,  MRS.  H.  R,  40  years  old,  Tolona,  111. 

SANDS,  KITTIE,  Tolona,  111.,  15  years  old,  visiting  Miss  L. 
Barnett  and  Miss  J.  Dawson,  1006  West  Fifty-fourth 
street. 

SCHNEIDER,  GEORGE  GRINER,  20  years  old,  437  Bel- 
den  avenue. 

SCHNEIDER,  JAMES,   157  Roscoe  boulevard. 

SCHNEIDER,  MRS.  JAMES,  22  years  old,  157  Roscoe  boul- 
evard. 

SCHREINER,  MRS.  MAMIE  L.,  30  years  old,  2183  West 
Monroe  street. 

SCHREINER,  IRMA  MAY,  5  years  old,  2183  West  Monroe 
street. 

SECHRIST,  MISS  HATTIE,  2928  North  Paulina  street. 

SECHRIST,  JUNE,  8  years  old,  2928  North  Paulina  street. 

SCHAFFNER,  MISS  MINNIE,  25  years  old,  578  Forty- 
fifth  place;  teacher  in  Forrestville  school. 

SKINNERS,  MRS.  ALICE,  24  years  old,  4344  Oakenwald 
avenue. 

SIMPSON,  ADA,  40  years  old,  visiting  at  537  West  Sixty- 
fifth  street,  Denver. 

SMITH,  MISS  BONNIE,  15  years  old,  2177  Washington 
boulevard. 

SMITH,  RUTH  M.,  15  years  old,  2177  Washington  boule- 
vard. 

STAFFORD,  BESSIE  M.,  1253  Wilcox  avenue. 

STRATMAN,  RUTH,  18  years  old,  421  East  Forty-fifth 
street. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  35* 

STERN,  MARTIN,  1385  Congress  street. 

SAYRE,  MISS  CARRIE,  of  7646  Bond  avenue,  school  teach- 
er in  Myra  Bradwell  school,  Windsor  Park;  identified  by 
friends;  she  was  in  the  party  of  school  teachers  with  Miss 
Alma  Gustafson. 

SWARTZ,  MISS  MARJORIE,  student  at  Washington  col- 
lege, Washington,  D.  C,  20  years  old,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Thomas  Benton  Swartz,  146  Thirty-sixth  street;  died  at  St. 
Luke's  hospital. 

SAVILLE,  WARREN  E.,  19  years  old,  46  East  Fifty-third 
street;  formerly  lived  at  Kankakee,  111. 

SEYMORE,  A.  L.,  758  West  Lake  street. 

SMITH,  MRS.,  Desplaines,  111. 

STAFFORD,  MISS  ROSIE,  18  years  old,  address  not 
known. 

STILLMAN,  MISS  CARRIE,  daughter  of  Prof.  Stillman  of 
Leland  Stafford  university,  California;  was  in  seat  in  first 
row  of  first  balcony. 

SHERIDAN,  ANDREW,  35  years  old,  4155  Wentworth  ave- 
nue ;  identified  as  engineer  of  ,Wabash  railroad  company,  by 
F.  J.  Herlihy. 

STOOD ARD,  DONALD,  u  years  old,  Lanark,  111.;  body 
identified  by  the  father,  B.  M.  Stoddard. 

SYLVESTER,  ELECTRA,  30  years  old,  Plainview,  Mo., 
visiting  Mrs.  Andrew  Irle,  1240  Lawrence  avenue;  body 
identified  by  name  on  handkerchief. 

SUTTEN,  HARRY  P.,  17  years  old,  1595  West  Adams 
street. 

SEGRINT,  MRS.  A.  N.,  40  years  old,  Paulina  street  and 
Lawrence  avenue,  Irving  Park;  identified  by  husband. 

STEINMETZ,  MRS.  O.  T.  P.,  2541  Halsted  street. 

STRONG,  E.  K.,  10  Oakland  Crescent. 


352  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

SAWYER,  MRS.  J.,  102  Cleaver  street. 

SCHMIDT,  ROSAMOND,  18  years  old,  daughter  of  H.  G. 

Schmidt,  335  West  Sixty-first  street. 
SCHOENBECK,  ANNA,  408  East  Division  street;  identified 

by  mother. 

SCHOENBECK,  ELVINA,  408  East  Division  street. 
SCHREINER,  ARLENE,  6  years  old,  2183  West  Monroe 

street;  identified  by  relatives. 
SILL,  LUCILE,  7604  Union  avenue,  25  years  old;  identified 

by  E.  S.  Hall. 

SMITH,  MARINE,  Desplaines,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Smith. 
SHABAD,  MYRTLE,  14  years  old,  3041  Indiana  avenue. 
SPECHT,  MRS.  B.,  6542  Stewart  avenue. 
SPECHT,  MISS  EVA,  6542  Stewart  avenue. 
SPINDLER,  MRS.  J.  H.,  Lowe,  Ind.;  visiting  sister,  Mrs. 

E.  C.  Frady,  4356  Forrestville  avenue. 
SPINDLER,  BURDETTE,  Lowe,  Ind.,  son  of  Mrs.  J.  H. 

Spindler. 
SQUIRE,  MISS  OLIVE  E.,  914  Cuyler  avenue;  identified  by 

her  father. 
SQUIRE,  OSCAR,  7  years  old,  942  Cuyler  avenue;  identified 

by  father. 

STARK,  MRS.  N.  M.,  Des  Moines,  la.' 
STODDARD,  ZABELLA,  27  years  old,  daughter  of  D.  M. 
Stoddard   of   Minonk,    111.;   was   accompanied   by   young 
brother. 
STRONG,   MRS.  JAMES  N.,  23  years  old,    10  Oakland 

Crescent. 
STUDLEY,  THE  REV.  G.  H.,  3139  Parnell  avenue,  pastor 

of  the  Asbury  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  at  Thirty-first 

street  and  Parnell  avenue. 
SUETSCH,  W.  J.,  33  years  old,  2496  North  Ashland  avenue 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  353 

SUTTLER,  MRS.  L.  J.,  Des  Moines,  la. 
SWARTZ,  IRENE,  12  years  old,  143  Thirty-fifth  streei. 
SULLIVAN,  ELLA,  Knoxville,  la.,  body  identified  by  L,  C. 
Flurnit. 

T. 

TAYLOR,  MRS.  J.  M.,  31  years  old,  1222  Morse  avenues 
Rogers  Park ;  identified  by  daughter-in-law,  Mrs.  A.  Taylor, 
1028  Farwell  avenue,  Rogers  Park. 

THOMPSON,  CLYDE,  O.,  Madison,  Wis. ;  student  at  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin ;  Thompson  had  taken  his  fiancee,  Miss 
Leigh  Haveland,  to  the  theater ;  both  perished. 

TAYLOR,  JAMES  M.,  60  years,  1222  Morse  avenue,  Rogers 
Park;  identified  by  Albert  A.  Taylor. 

TAYLOR,  REAM,  1204  Morris  avenue. 

TORNEY,  MRS.  EDNA,  28  years  old;  lived  at  Francisco 
avenue  and  Adams  street. 

TRASK,  MRS.  E.  W.,  Ottawa,  111. 

TAYLOR,  MISS  FLORA,  22  years  old,  at  St.  Luke's  Hos- 
pital. 

TEASTER,  F.  W. 

THOMAS,  REMINGTON  HEWITT,  18  years  old,  62 
Woodland  Park,  son  of  Frank  H.  Thomas. 

THONI,  CLARA,  4644  Evans  avenue;  identified  by  Maud 
Partell. 

TRASK,  MRS.  R.  H.,  Ottawa,  111. ;  identified  at  Carroll's. 

TURNEY,  MRS.  SUSIE,  40  years  old,  534  East  Fiftieth 
street;  identified  by  her  son. 

TARNEY,  CARRIE,  534  East  Fiftieth  street. 

TAYLOR,  RENE  MARY,  12  years,  1222  Morse  avenue. 

THATCHER,  WALTER,  38  years  old,  341  West  Sixtieth 
place. 


IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

THOMPSON,  C.  J.  (supposed)  ;  name  on  collar. 
TOBIAS,  FLORENCE,  1182  Flournoy  street. 

V. 

VALLELY,  MRS.  J.  T.,  858  Sawyer  avenue. 

VALLELY,  BERNICE,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Vallely. 

VAN  INGEN,  ELIZABETH,  9  years  old,  Kenosha,  Wis. 

VAN  INGEN,  JOHN,  Kenosha,  Wis.,  20  years  old,  famed 
golf  player,  son  of  H.  F.  Van  Ingen ;  was  at  the  theater  with" 
parents,  three  sisters,  and  two  brothers;  died  at  Sherman 
house,  where  he  and  his  parents  were  taken. 

VAN  INGEN,  GRACE,  Kenosha,  23  years  old,  daughter  of 
H.  F.  Van  Ingen. 

VAN  INGEN,  NED,  18  years  old,  son  of  H.  F.  Van  Ingen, 
Kenosha. 

VAN  INGEN,  MARGARET,  16  years  old,  daughter' of  H. 
F.  Van  Ingen,  Kenosha. 

W. 

WOLFF,  HARRIET,  daughter  of  L.  Wolff,  president  of 
L.  Wolff  Manufacturing  Company,  1319  Washington  boule- 
vard. 

WACHS,  MRS.  ELLA,  of  Laporte,  Ind.;  body  identified  by 
her  brother,  F.  C.  Flentye. 

WASHINGTON,  MISS  FREDA,  22  years  old,  1897  Mel- 
rose  street. 

WEINDER,  PAUL,  17  years  old,  201  South  Harvey  ave- 
nue, Oak  Park;  identified  by  father. 

WELLS,  DONALD,  12  years  old,  1228  Diversey  boulevard. 

WALDMAN,  SAM,  20  years,  608  Milwaukee  avenue. 

WALMAN,  SIMON,  Austin.  Identified  by  Edward  Will- 
iams. 


1ROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER.  35 ( 

.VASHINGTON,  JOHN,  22  years  old,  1847  Melrose  street. 

vVILCOX,  MRS.  EVA  M.,  45  years  old,  109  South  Leavitt 
street. 

WHITE,  MRS.  W.  K,  Washington  Heights.     Identified  by 
Secretary  White  of  the  finance  committee,  city  hall. 

WHITE,  MISS  FLORENCE  O.,  22  years  old,  437  West 
Thirty-eighth  street.     Identified  by  F.  J.  Shaw. 

WHITE,  MRS.  HIRAM,  and  child,  Logansport,  Ind. 

WIEMER,  MRS.  THOMAS,  30  years  old,  838  Wilson  ave- 
nue.   Identified  by  husband. 

WILLIAMS,  HOWARD,  18  years  old,  Cornell  student. 

WENTON,  MISS  ALICE,  6241  Kimbark  avenue. 

WAGNER,  MARY  ANNA,  629  Sedgwick  street. 

WECK,   ERICK,   Milwaukee;   guest  of  Joseph   Schneider, 
Chicago. 

WIRE,  EVA,  15  years  old,  613  West  Sixty-first  place.   Iden- 
tified by  her  uncle,  E.  A.  Mayo. 

WOOD,  MRS.  J.,  545  West  Sixty-fifth  street. 

WULSON,  HOWARD  J.,  213  Halsted  street.    Identified  by 
E.  J.  Blair. 

WEBBER,  JOSEPH,  Janesville,  Wis. 

WEBER,  MRS.  CARRIE,  aged  49  years,  wife  of  John  J. 
Weber,  402  Garfield  avenue. 

WUNDERLICH,  MRS.  HARRY,  34  years  old.    Identified 
by  her  husband. 

WESKOPS,  IRMA,  aged  15  years,  4939  Champlain  avenue 
Identified  by  brother. 

WEIHERS,  IDA,  1970  Kimball  avenue. 

WEINFELD,  HANNAH,  20  years  old,  3745  Wabash  ave- 
nue. 

WERNISH,  MRS.  MARY,  341  Center  street. 

WERSKOWSKY,  MRS.,  125  Sangamon  street. 


356  IROQUOIS  THEATER  DISASTER. 

WINDER,  BARlRY,  12  years  old,  201  South  Harvey  avenue, 

Oak  Park. 

WOLF,  SADIE,  26  years  old,  Hammond,  Ind. 
WOODS,  MRS.  J.  L.,  49  years  old,  437  Sixty-fifth  street. 

Z. 

ZEISLER,  WALTER  B.,  aged  17  years,  University  of  Chi- 
cago student,  son  of  Dr.  Joseph  Zeisler,  3256  Lake  Park 
avenue.  Identified  by  name  on  watch  charm. 

ZIMMERMAN,  MISS  BESSIE,  954  St.  Louis  avenue, 
teacher  in  public  schools,  died  at  St.  Luke's  hospital. 

ZIMMERMAN,  MARY  E.,  20  years  old,  841  South  Turner 
avenue. 

RESIDENCE  OF  VICTIMS. 

Aurola,    111 1    Granvllle,    Mich 2     Oak  Park,  Til 5 

Harrington     111 2    Grossdale,    111 1  Ontonagon.    Mlcb.    ..  '2 

Bartlett,    III 2    Hammond,    Ind 4     Ottawa,  111 3 

Battle    Creek,    Mich..  2    Hart.    Mich 3      Palo   Alto,    Cal 1 

Berwyn,    111 2    Harvard,    111 2     Petersburg.   Ind 2 

BInghamton,    N.    Y...  1     Janesvllle,    Wls 1      Pittsburg    Pa     1 

Btoomington,    III 1    Jonesvllle,    Mich 1     Plalnwell,  Mich 2 

Brush,    Colo 1     Kansas   City,    Mo 1      Quincy,    III 2 

Burlington,    Iowa    ...  1  '  Kenosha.    Wis 1     Racine,    Wis 3 

Cedar    Rapids,    Iowa.  3    Keokuk,   Iowa 1      Rensselaer,    Ind 1 

Chicago,     111 300    KIrkville,    Mo 1      Rock   Island,    111 1 

Clinton,    Iowa    ......  2    Knor,  Ind 1     Savannah    111 1 

Custer  Park,   111 1  Knoxville,    Iowa    ....  1      St.    Louis,   Mo 3 

Davenport.    Iowa....  1    Lafayette,    Ind 1      St.    Mary's.    Ind 1 

Decatur,     III 1  Lake   Geneva,    111....  1  Thief      River       Falls, 

Decorah,    Iowa    1    Lakeside,    111 1         Minn 1 

Delaware,    0 8    Laporte,    Ind 2     Tolono,    111 2 

Des   Molnes,    Iowa...  5    Lena,    111 1  Washington     Heights, 

Des   Plalnes,    111 2    Lincoln    III     1         III 3 

Detroit,     Mich 2     Lockport,    III 1      Watertown,  Wis. 2 

Dodgevllle,    Ind 1     Logansport.    Ind 3      Waukegan,    III.  ' 3 

Elgin,    III 2    Lowell,    Ind 2  West   Grossdale,   III..  4 

Eola,    III 2    Madison,   Wls 1  West  Superior,   Wis..  2 

Evmnston     111 12    Madison,   S.  D 1      Wheaton    111 3 

Fargo,    Minn 1     Martinsburg.     0 2      Winnetka,   111 8 

Freeport,    III 1    Mattoon,    111 1      Woodford,  0 1 

Galesburg,    III 1  Milwaukee,    Wls.     ...  3     Woodstock,   111 2 

Geneva,     111 3    Mlnonk,    111 2     Zairesville,    0 3 

Gibson   City,   111 1    New  York  City 2  • 

Glen   View,    111 1  Norwood  Park,  111...  3              Total   570 

This  remarkable  table  shows  that  victims  of  the  fire  were   from  thirteen 
states  and  eighty-six  cities  and  towns. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 
THE  STORY  OF  THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE. 

All  the  world  was  startled  on  Sunday,  February  7,  1904, 
just  39  days  after  the  Iroquois  theater  horror,  by  another 
sickening  visitation  of  the  fire  fiend.  This  time  the  devour- 
ing element  fell  upon  the  city  of  Baltimore  and  all  but  effaced 
it  from  the  map.  Millions  upon  millions  in  property  were 
swept  away,  old  established  firms  annihilated  and  miles  of 
streets  occupied  by  business  houses  laid  waste.  Fortunately 
this  disaster  was  accompanied  by  no  loss  of  life. 

Twenty-seven  hours  elapsed  before  the  conflagration  was 
checked.  Fire  fighters  hurried  to  the  scene  from  a  number 
of  near  by  cities  and  aided  the  local  fire  department  in  sub- 
duing the  flames.  Strangely  enough  it  was  a  coal  yard  that 
broke  the  onward  sweep  of  the  sea  of  fire  and  enabled  the 
firemen  to  bring  the  fire  under  control.  Even  then  it  burned 
for  days,  feeding  on  the  debris  and  wreckage  that  marked 
its  early  progress.  The  greatest  danger  past  troops  and 
police  relieved  the  firemen  who  sought  rest  exhausted  and 
maddened  by  the  terrible  ordeal  through  which  they  had 
passed. 

History  affords  no  parallel  of  the  conditions  in  fire-swept 
Baltimore  on  the  following  Tuesday  when  its  people  awoke 
to  the  mighty  task  of  reconstruction  looming  up  before 
them.  After  having  suffered  a  loss  estimated  at  $125,000,- 
ooo  a  cry  of  rejoicing  went  up  among  them  because  of  the 
absence  of  casualties.  Not  a  life  was  lost  in  the  avalanche  of 
flame  and  only  one  person  was  seriously  injured — Jacob  In- 
glefritz,  a  volunteer  fireman  from  York,  Pa.  While  the 
hospitals  were  full  to  overflowing  the  injuries  sustained  were 
of  a  minor  nature.  A  strange  comparison  with  the  Iro- 


358  THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE. 

quois  theater  fire  of  a  month  before!  In  that  instance  600 
met  death  and  a  host  were  seriously  injured  in  a  fire  of  fif- 
teen minutes'  duration  confined  to  one  building  that  suffered 
insignificant  damage.  Here  in  a  fire  that  swept  for  days 
over  the  business  heart  of  a  great  city  not  a  life  was  lost. 
Such  is  the  strange  operation  of  providence. 

Other  conflagrations  suffered  by  American  cities  have 
nothing  in  common  with  Baltimore  experience.  Fire  de- 
stroyed 674  buildings  in  New  York  on  Dec.  26,  1835,  caus- 
ing a  property  loss  of  $17,000,000  without  causing  loss  of 
life.  Thirty-six  years  later  Chicago  burned,  wiping  out  17,- 
450  buildings  and  250  lives  and  entailing  a  loss  estimated 
at  $200,000,000.  The  following  year,  1872,  fire  laid  waste 
65  acres  of  property  in  Boston,  causing  a  property  loss  of 
$80,000,000  and  killing  fourteen  persons.  The  partial  de- 
struction of  Ottawa  and  Hull,  Canada,  April  26,  1900,  in- 
flicted a  loss  of  $17,000,000  and  brought  death  to  seven.  On 
June  30  of  the  same  year  the  North  German  Lloyd  dock  fire 
in  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  cost  150  lives  and  $7,000,000  in  property. 
Jacksonville,  Fla.,  lost  $10,000,000  through  a  visitation  of 
fire  that  swept  through  an  area  13  blocks  wide  and  two  miles 
long.  The  last  in  the  list  was  the  Paterson,  N.  J.,  fire  of 
Feb.  8,  1902,  which  destroyed  75  buildings  valued  at  $18,- 
000,000. 

As  fire  and  water  have  ever  been  recognized  as  the  most 
potent  agencies  of  death  and  destruction  it  will  readily  ap- 
pear that  seared,  scorched  Baltimore  was  fortunate  indeed 
in  the  absence  of  casualties.  On  the  calm  of  a  restful  Sab- 
bath, marred  only  by  the  presence  of  a  high  wind,  the  con- 
suming storm  broke  upon  the  doomed  city.  To  that  wind 
and  the  presence  of  hundreds  of  old  fashioned  highly  inflam- 
mable structures  nestling  among  the  sky  scrapers  may  be 
attributed  the  indescribably  rapid  spread  of  the  flames. 

The  start  of  the  fire  was  in  the  basement  of  Hurst  &  Co.'s 
wholesale  dry  goods  house.  After  burning  for  about  ten 
minutes  there  was  a  loud  report  from  the  interior  of  the  build- 
ing as  the  gasoline  tank  used  for  the  engine  in  the  building 


THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE.  359 

exploded.  Instantly  the  immense  structure  collapsed,  send- 
ing destruction  to  adjacent  buildings  in  all  directions  and 
causing  the  fire  to  be  beyond  control  of  the  firemen. 

Spreading  throughout  the  wholesale  section,  the  fire  burned 
out  every  wholesale  house  of  note  in  the  city,  swept  along 
through  the  Baltimore  and  Fayette  street  retail  sections,  de- 
stroyed all  the  prominent  office  buildings,  leveled  banks  and 
brokerage  offices,  as  well  as  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
Stock  Exchange,  in  the  financial  section,  then  sped  on  through 
the  wholesale  and  export  trade  sections  centering  about  Ex- 
change place.  It  finally  stopped  at  Jones  falls,  a  creek  that 
runs  through  Baltimore,  but  swept  along  the  creek  to  the 
lumber  district  and  the  docks. 

As  soon  as  the  threatening  character  of  the  fire  was  real- 
ized appeals  were  sent  broadcast  for  help  and  desperate  meas- 
ures were  adopted  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  flames.  To 
gain  that  end  huge  buildings  were  leveled  through  the  agency 
of  dynamite.  Eleven  fire  engines  and  crews  were  hurried 
from  New  York  by  a  fast  special  train  and  they  joined  in 
the  battle  early  and  fought  like  demons  until  exhausted. 
Philadelphia,  Wilmington,  Washington,  Frederick,  Md., 
Westminster,  Md.,  and  York,  Pa.,  each  sent  brave  contin- 
gents of  men  with  an  equipment  of  apparatus  to  reinforce 
the  desperate  firemen  of  Baltimore. 

The  first  attempt  at  dynamiting  was  in  the  large  building 
of  Armstrong,  Cator  &  Co.,  but  it  failed  to  collapse  and  at- 
tention was  turned  to  the  building  at  the  southwest  corner  of 
Charles  and  German  streets,  where  six  charges  of  dynamite, 
each  charge  containing  100  pounds,  were  exploded.  The  tre- 
mendous force  of  the  explosion  tore  out  the  massive  granite 
columns  that  supported  the  building  and  left  it  with  apparent- 
ly almost  no  support,  but  the  walls  failed  to  collapse  and 
stood  until  the  flames  had  crossed  Charles  street  and  were  eat- 
ing into  the  block  between  Charles  and  Light  streets. 

Meantime  the  fire  had  been  communicated  to  the  row  of 
buildings  on  South  Charles  street,  between  German  and  Lom- 
bard streets,  and  all  those  places,  occupied  principally  by 


360  THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE. 

wholesale  produce  and  grain  dealers,  were  in  flames.  Before 
midnight  the  Carrollton  hotel  was  in  flames  and  the  fire  was 
sweeping  toward  Calvert  street  with  irresistible  fury. 

It  was  a  terrible  Sunday  afternoon  and  night!  People 
forgot  their  usual  devotions  at  church  to  pack  their  most 
valued  possessions  ready  for  flight.  Men  of  wealth  left  their 
families  and  firesides  to  join  in  the  work  of  suppressing  the 
flames.  Women  prepared  to  flee  with  their  valuables  before 
the  wave  of  fire  they  momentarily  expected  to  roll  down  upon 
them.  Wealth  and  employment  were  disappearing  under 
the  advance  of  the  fiery  element  and  gloom,  fear  and  dark 
forebodings  settled  down  upon  the  doomed  municipality.  But 
there  was  neither  sleep  nor  rest  for  man,  woman  or  child. 

Firemen  working  on  the  south  side  had  succeeded  in  check- 
ing the  flames  at  Lombard  street  and,  as  the  wind  was  blow- 
ing from  the  northwest,  there  was  no  danger  of  it  spreading 
farther  in  that  direction.  The  western  limit  had  also  been 
reached  at  Howard  street  and  the  danger  was  confined  to  the 
east  and  north. 

The  progress  of  the  flames  toward  the  north  had  in  the 
meantime  been  so  rapid  as  to  be  simply  appalling.  From 
structure  to  structure  they  flew,  licking  up  the  massive  build- 
ings as  if  they  were  composed  of  paper.  In  the  block  between 
German  and  Baltimore  streets  they  flew  along  and  almost  be- 
fore it  could  be  realized  the  buildings  along  Baltimore  street 
were  blazing  from  roof  to  basement. 

For  a  time  it  was  hoped  the  fire  could  be  kept  from  cross- 
ing the  north  side  of  Baltimore  street  and  the  firemen  made 
a  desperate  effort  to  prevent  it.  The  effort  was  useless,  how- 
ever, and  soon  the  tall,  narrow  building  of  Mullin's  hotel  be- 
gan to  dart  out  tongues  of  flame  and  the  remainder  of  the 
buildings  between  Sharp  and  Liberty  streets  were  ablaze  and 
the  fire  was  marching  north.  The  flames  flew  rapidly  from 
place  to  place  and  soon  the  entire  south  side  of  Fayette  street 
was  in  their  grasp.  Down  Fayette  to  Charles  they  swept  and 
in  a  short  space  of  time  the  building  occupied  by  Putts  & 
Co.  was  doomed. 


THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE.  361 

Seeing,  that  nothing  could  save  it,  it  was  decided  to  destroy 
the  building  with  dynamite  in  the  hope  of  preventing  the 
fire  from  crossing  Charles  street.  The  explosion  was  success- 
ful in  accomplishing  the  object  as  the  entire  corner  collapsed 
instantly.  This  had,  apparently,  no  effect  upon  the  progress 
of  the  fire,  for  almost  before  the  sound  of  the  falling  walls 
had  died  away  the  building  on  the  east  side  of  Charles  street 
began  to  blaze,  and  it  was  evident  the  block  between  Charles 
and  St.  Paul  streets  were  doomed. 

In  a  desperate  but  futile  effort  to  prevent  the  fire  going  fur- 
ther to  the  east  building  after  building  was  dynamited  in  this 
block,  but  it  was  all  of  no  avail  and  the  fire  swept  steadily 
onward. 

The  Daily  Record  building  was  soon  in  flames  and  not 
many  minutes  later  the  fire  had  leaped  over  St.  Paul  street 
and  the  lofty  and  massive  Calvert  building  began  to  emit 
smoke  and  flame.  The  Equitable  building,  just  over  a  narrow 
alley,  quickly  followed  and  these  two  immense  buildings  gave 
forth  a  glare  that  lighted  the  city  for  miles  around. 

It  was  thought  that  the  fire  could  be  prevented  from  cross- 
ing to  the  north  side  of  Fayette  street  and  here  again  a  des- 
perate stand  was  made  by  the  firemen.  Again  it  was  use- 
less and  soon  the  large  building  of  Hall,  Headlington  &  Co., 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  Charles  and  Fayette  streets,  was 
blazing  brightly.  With  scarcely  a  pause  the  fire  leaped  across 
to  the  east  side  of  Charles  street  and  enveloped  the  handsome 
building  of  the  Union  Trust  company,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  large  buildings  to  the  west  of  Hall,  Headlington  &  Co., 
occupied  by  Wise  Bros.  &  Oppenheim,  Oberndorf  &  Co., 
were  aflame  throughout. 

Down  Fayette  street  to  the  east  the  flames  swept,  and  soon 
the  new  courthouse  was  ablaze.  The  fire  area  then  extended 
along  Liberty  street  north  to  Fayette,  east  to  Charles,  north 
to  Lexington,  south  on  Charles  to  Baltimore  street,  east  on 
Baltimore  to  Holliday  and  from  there  in  spots  to  Center  Mar- 
ket space. 
.When  it  was  seen  the  courthouse  could  not  be  saved  the 


362  THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE. 

court  records  were  all  removed  to  the  northern  police  station, 
two  miles  and  half  away.  The  Continental  Trust  building, 
a  thirteen-story  structure,  caught  at  the  tenth  floor  and  was 
totally  destroyed  after  burning  like  a  great  torch.  The  pri- 
vate bank  of  Alexander  Brown,  located  at  Baltimore  and  Cal- 
vert  streets,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  fire  district,  a  one  story 
stone  structure,  miraculously  escaped  annihilation,  the  sur- 
viving building  out  of  a  great  spread  of  two  square  miles 
of  costly  structures  that  caught  the  early  morning  sun  that 
fateful  day.  Sunrise  that  disclosed  naught  save  ruin,  chaos 
and  confusion. 

Thus  raged  the  warfare  of  man  against  a  relentless  hungry 
element  for  27  hours.  It  was  1 1 140  Sunday  morning  when 
the  fire  started.  At  2 140  Monday  afternoon  the  joyful  news 
was  spread  that  the  allied  fire  departments  had  the  flames 
within  control.  Hotels,  banks,  business  houses,  factories — 
in  fact  everything  in  the  heart  of  the  city  was  swept  away. 
All  the  local  newspapers  save  one  were  destroyed,  the  street 
car  systems  were  without  power  to  operate  and  the  lighting 
facilities  were  sadly  crippled.  Towering  ruins  loomed  up  on 
every  hand,  swaying  in  the  breeze  and  jeopardizing  life.  And 
still  the  countless  fires  in  the  burned  district  raged  on,  illum- 
inating the  heavens  and  clouding  the  atmosphere  with  dense 
smoke  against  which  myriads  of  sparks  twinkled  like  minia- 
ture stars. 

The  last  places  to  go  before  the  fire  started  to  burn  itself 
out,  were  the  icehouse  and  coal  yard  of  the  American  Ice 
company.  The  coal  yard,  which  spread  out  about  200  yards 
south  of  the  icehouse,  was  the  means  of  staying  the  march  of 
the  flames  on  the  south  and  Jones  falls  on  the  east.  The 
Norfolk  wharf  of  the  Baltimore  steam-packet  company, 
which  was  stocked  with  barrels  of  resin  and  other  miscella- 
neous merchandise,  was  destroyed  before  the  ice  company's 
plant  was  reached. 

At  10  o'clock  Monday  the  fire  was  reported  under  control, 
but  a  little  later  the  flames  were  sweeping  along  the  harbor 
and  river  men  began  taking  their  vessels  rapidly  out  into  the 


THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE.  363 

middle  of  the  stream.  There  were  about  seventy-five  of 
these  vessels  and  they  were  hastily  anchored  down  the  bay. 
The  buildings  of  the  Standard  Oil  company  and  the  Buck- 
man  Fruit  company  along  the  water  front  were  soon  in 
flames.  This  renewal  of  the  energy  of  the  fire  continued  un- 
til well  along  into  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day. 

Following  is  a  partial  list  of  the  principal  buildings  de- 
stroyed in  the  baptism  of  fire  or  by  dynamite  in  an  effort 
to  stay  the  flames: 

The  courthouse,  loss $4,000,000 

The  postoffice   1,000,000 

Equitable  building,  twelve  stories 1,135,000 

Union  Trust  Company  building,  n  stories 1,000,000 

Continental  Trust  building,  16  stories 1,125,000 

Baltimore  &  Ohio  general  offices 1,125,000 

Calvert   building    , 1,125,000 

Hopkins  bank. 

Holliday  Street  theater. 

Guardian  Trust  building. 

Chesapeake  and  Potomac  Telephone  company. 

Maryland  Trust  company. 

.Alexander  Brown  Banking  company. 

Bell  Telephone  building. 

Custom  house. 

Western  Union  building. 

National  Exchange  bank. 

United  States  Express  office. 

Mercantile  Trust  building. 

Baltimore  American. 

Baltimore  Herald. 

Baltimore  Sun. 

Baltimore  Evening  News. 

Baltimore  Record. 

John  E.  Hurst,  dry  goods,  $1,500,000. 

William  Koch  Importing  company,  $150,000. 

Daniel  Miller  company,  dry  goods,  $1,500,000. 

Dixon  &  Bartlett  company,  shoes,  $175,000. 


364  THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE. 

Joyner,  Wilse  &  Co.,  hats  and  .caps,  $100,000. 
Spragins,  Buck  &  Co.,  shoes,  $125,000. 

Cohen- Adler  Shoe  company,  $125,000. 

L.   S.   Fitman,  women's  wrappers;     Jacob  R.   Seligman, 
paper,  and  Nathan  Rosen,  women's  cloaks,  $100,000. 

Morton,  Samuels  &  Co.,  boots  and  shoes,  and  Strauss  Bros., 
storage,  $100,000. 

Bates  Rubber  company,  .$135,000. 

Guggenheimer,  Wells  &  Co.,  lithographers  and     printers, 
$125,000. 

M.  Friedman  &  Sons,  clothing,  and  F.  Schleunes,  clothing, 
$150,000. 

Schwarzkopf  Toy  company,  $100,000. 

National  Exchange  bank,  building  and  contents,  $125,000. 

S.  Lowman  &  Co.,  clothing,  $125,000. 

John  E.  Hurst  &  Co.,  storage,  $150,000. 

Lawrence  &  Gould  Shoe  company  and  Bates  Hat  company, 
$125,000. 

S.  Ginsberg  &  Co.,  clothing,  $125,000. 

Winkelmann  &  Brown  Drug  company,  $125,000. 

R.  M.  Sutton  &  Co.,  dry  goods,  $1,500,000. 

Chesapeake  Shoe  company,  $100,000. 

S.  F.  &  A.  F.  Miller,  clothing  manufacturers,  $150,000. 

S.  Halle  Sons,  boots  and  shoes,  $100,000. 

Strauss  Bros.,  dry  goods,  $250,000. 

A.  C.  Meyer  &  Co.,  patent  medicines,  $150,000. 

Strauss,  Eiseman  &  Co.,  shirt  manufacturers,  $150,000. 

North  Bros.  &  Strauss,  $150,000. 

McDonald  &  Fisher,  wholesale  paper,  $100,000. 

Wiley,  Bruster  &  Co.,  dry  goods,  and  F.  W.  &  E.  Dammam, 
cloth,  $125,000. 

Henry  Oppenheimer  &  Co.,  clothing,  and  Van  Sant,  Ja- 
cobs &  Co.,  shirts,  $175,000. 

Lewis  Lauer  &  Co.,  shirts,  $100,000. 

Champion  Shoe  Manufacturing  company  and  Drfggs,  Cur- 
rin  &  Co.,  shoes,  $100,000. 

Mendels  Bros.,  women's  wrappers,  $125,000. 


THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE.  365 

Blankenberg,  Gehrmann  &  Co.,  notions,  $125,000. 

Leo  Keene  &  Co.,  women's  cloaks,  and  Henry  Pretzf elder 
&  Co.,  boots  and  shoes,  $125,000. 

Peter  Rohe  &  Son,  harness  manufacturers,  $125,000. 

James  Roberts  Manufacturing  company,  plumbers'  supplies, 
$ioo,ooa 

R.  J.  Anderf  &  Co.,  boots  and  shoes,  and  James  Robert- 
•oon  Manufacturing  company,  storage,  $100,000. 

L.  Grief  &  Bros.,  clothing,  $150,000. 

Maas  &  Kemper,  embroidery  and  laces,  $125,000. 

Within  72  hours  of  the  start  of  the  fire  the  people  of  Bal- 
timore were  giving  thought  to  reconstruction.  After  an  in- 
vestigation it  was  announced  that  the  vaults  of  the  Continental 
Trust  company,  which  contained  securities  to  the  value  of 
$200,000,000,  were  intact  and  that  most  of  the  great  bank 
and  safety  deposit  vaults  escaped  destruction.  To  relieve 
banks  and  citizens  from  the  embarrassment  of  financial  trans- 
actions the  next  ten  days  were  declared  legal  holidays  in 
the  commonwealth  of  Maryland. 

Mayor  McLane  reflected  local  public  sentiment  when  he 
sent  out  the  following  declaration  to  the  world  at  large : 

"Baltimore  will  now  enter  undaunted  into  the  task  of  res- 
urrection. A  greater  and  more  beautiful  city  will  rise  from 
the  ruins  and  we  shall  make  of  this  calamity  a  future  blessing. 
We  are  staggered  by  the  terrible  blow,  but  we  are  not  dis- 
couraged, and  every  energy  of  the  city  as  a  municipality  and 
its  citizens  as  private  individuals  will  be  devoted  to  a  rehabil- 
itation that  will  not  only  prove  the  stuff  we  are  made  of  but 
be  a  monument  to  the  American  spirit." 

With  the  exception  of  the  Baltimore  World  all  the  local 
newspapers  suffered  the  loss  of  their  plants,  moved  their  staffs 
to  Washington  and  issued  editions  regularly  from  there  de- 
voted to  Baltimore  news.  The  World,  published  in  the  thick 
of  the  ruin  and  desolation,  gave  voice  to  its  sentiment  in  the 
following  editorial: 

"God  be  merciful  unto  those  who  suffered  from  the  awful 
calamity  that  swept  down  on  Baltimore. 


366  THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE. 

"Tongue  fails;  pen  is  inadequate  and  refuses  to  compre- 
hend the  extent  of  the  disaster  that  has  overtaken  us.  We 
have  heard  of  awful  calamities  to  others;  in  fancied  security 
we  have  looked  on  in  sympathy  while  others  have  suffered. 
Now  the  pain,  the  anxiety,  the  suffering  is  ours  and  we  stand 
appalled,  unable  to  realize  the  immensity  of  the  terrible  affair. 
"The  World  is  the  only  newspaper  office  in  the  city  that  is 
standing.  Once  it  was  on  fire  and  was  saved  only  by  the 
earnest,  valiant  and  courageous  work  of  the  World  employes 
and  the  goodness  of  God.  To  our  suffering  contemporaries 
we  extend  the  greatest  sympathy  and  to  the  hundreds  of 
other  sufferers  also.  For  those  thousands  who  are  thrown 
out  of  work  in  the  dead  of  winter,  with  sorrow  and  suffering 
staring  them  in  the  face,  our  heart  throbs  with  a  feeling  that 
we  cannot  express.  All  we  can  say  is,  'God  help  them.'  " 

Local  and  national  military  authorities  took  immediate 
charge  of  the  situation  to  prevent  looting  and  disorder,  pos- 
sible because  of  the  vast  sums  of  money  in  the  various  safes 
and  vaults  scattered  about  in  the  ruins.  Recognition  of  the 
disaster  came  from  the  nation  in  another  practical  form.  A 
bill  was  promptly  and  appropriately  introduced  in  Washing- 
ton by  Representative  Martin  Emerich  of  Illinois  reciting  the 
destruction  by  fire  in  preamble  and  then  continuing: 

Whereas,  The  fire  has  so  crippled  the  merchants  and  busi- 
ness interests  in  the  City  of  Baltimore  that  they  are  un- 
able adequately  and  properly  to  provide  and  care  for  the 
many  who  are  rendered  homeless  and  penniless  by  this  ca- 
lamity, and 

Whereas,  The  City  of  Baltimore  and  its  people  are  prob- 
ably unable  in  the  face  of  the  unlocked  for  catastrophe  to 
provide  proper  means  for  effectually  checking  the  fire  and 
promptly  to  remove  the  embers  and  debris;  and 

Whereas,  The  same,  while  remaining,  are  constantly  a 
menace  to  the  safety  of  many  citizens,  it  is  enacted  that  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be  authorized  and  directed  to  pay 
upon  the  order  of  the  City  Council  of  Baltimore,  certified 
by  the  Mayor  of  the  city,  to  any  designated  authority  of 


THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE.  367 

said  city,  any  necessary  sum  of  money  not  exceeding  the 
sum  of  $1,000,000  out  of  any  money  in  the  treasury  of 
the  United  States  not  otherwise  appropriated,  to  be  used 
for  the  purpose  of  providing   shelter    for    those    rendered 
homeless  by  the  said  fire,  and  also  to  be  used  for  the  pur- 
pose of  clearing  the  streets  and  localities  devastated  by 
the  fire  and  in  order  to  render  the  city  available  for  the 
use  of  residents  and  others  as  speedily  as  possible. 
The  bill  was  referred  to  the  committee  on  appropriations. 
Two  days  after  the  fire  insurance  men  estimated  the  loss 
at  $125,000,000  and  the  insurance  carried  at  $90,000,000. 
For  the  thousands  of  clerks  and  other  employes  whose  posi- 
tions are  gone  forever  there  seemed  to  be  nothing  before  them 
but  to  move  to  other  cities. 

In  the  work  of  rebuilding  came  employment  for  another 
army,  but  it  offered  no  avenue  of  escape  to  those  whose  doom 
was  sounded  by  the  explosions  of  dynamite  and  the  crash  of 
falling  walls.  Few  of  the  men  were  fitted  for  the  heavy  labor 
of  the  building  trades. 

Baltimore's  great  wholesale  houses  and  wharf  district  have 
been  ruined — not  irrevocably,  but  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
fear  grips  the  heart  of  every  Baltimore  business  man  that  the 
city  may  be  unable  to  recover  from  it  for  many  years. 

Amid  ruins  still  hot  and  smoking  Baltimore  began  its  resur- 
rection and  made  known  its  determination  to  rise,  Phoenix- 
like,  through  its  own  efforts,  by  politely,  yet  firmly  declining 
proffers  of  help  that  poured  in  from  all  sides.  The  blow  that 
befell  Baltimore  aroused  an  intense  civic  pride  that  found  ex- 
pression in  an  effort  to  work  out  its  own  salvation.  In  de- 
clining financial  assistance  Mayor  McLane  was  actuated  by 
the  spirit  shown  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Stock  Ex- 
change and  practically  every  local  commercial  body,  which 
came  forward  with  offers  of  all  the  money  needed  by  the  city 
for  immediate  use.  It  was  decided  that  should  the  Herculean 
task  prove  too  great  for  the  municipality  there  would  still 
be  ample  time  to  seek  outside  assistance. 

.While  heavily  armed  soldiers  marched  about  the  blistering 


368  THE  BURNING  OF  BALTIMORE. 

ruins  with  stately  tread  holding  back  those  who  only  a  few 
hours  before  had  fought  the  police  to  save  their  valuables  at 
the  risk  of  their  lives,  the  latter-^-energetic  business  men — 
were  already  preparing  to  re-open  their  establishments.  Old 
buildings,  long  unused,  private  residences  near  the  business 
section,  in  fact,  every  available  structure  to  be  secured  blos- 
somed forth  within  24  hours  with  crudely  lettered  signs  on 
board  or  cloth  announcing  that  within  was  the  temporary  of- 
fice of  a  firm.  The  names  on  some  of  these  signs  were  those 
that  rank  high  in  the  financial  and  commercial  circles  of  the 
world,  and  in  these  temporary  offices  men  who  for  years  have 
known  only  mahogany  desks  worked  on  cheap  tables  and  plain 
boards. 

One  of  the  surprises  of  the  fire  was  the  discovery  after  the 
excitement  was  over  that  two  financial  concerns  whose  homes 
were  directly  in  the  path  of  the  flames  escaped  practically  un- 
harmed. These  were  the  Mercantile  Trust  company  and 
Brown  Brothers'  Bank.  The  escape  of  these  buildings  was 
due  to  their  lack  of  height.  They  do  not  exceed  four  stories, 
and  as  they  were  surrounded  by  lofty  structures  the  flames 
swept  over  them. 

Unconcealed  joy  greeted  the  discovery  and  the  information 
that  millions  upon  millions  in  securities  in  various  vaults  es- 
caped destruction,  whereas  all  was  at  first  believed  to  have 
been  swept  away.  Practically  all  of  the  vaults  and  strong 
rooms  and  safes  of  the  financial  concerns  whose  buildings 
were  destroyed  were  found  unhurt.  A  tremendous  loss  in 
securities  had  been  anticipated  at  first,  and  when  vault  after 
vault  yielded  up  its  treasures  unharmed  the  joy  of  the  guar- 
dians was  boundless. 

From  one  trust  company's  safes  alone  papers  to  the  amount 
of  more  than  $200,000,000  were  recovered.  Merchants  and 
their  assistants,  smoke  soiled  and  begrimed  and  hollow-eyed 
from  anxiety  and  loss  of  sleep,  worked  like  laborers  in  the 
smoking  ruins  to  uncover  their  safes,  and  in  nearly  every  in- 
stance they  were  rewarded  by  intact  contents. 


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